Wisdom from Unlikely Places

I just finished reading "The Wisdom Of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS" by Elizabeth Pisani. It was well written and the narrative format gave a natural progression through her experiences from a somewhat hopeful to a battle-worn epidemiologist. The collective struggle with politicians, religious leaders, and the bureaucratic nightmare that are individual countries and global programmes is nothing short of heroic.

As an inspirational epidemiologist, she does not hide behind organizational red-tape/policies, but truly tells the science and the reasoning behind each prevention method. Use condoms... have needle exchange programs... find ways to protect the people. It doesn't matter who the people are or what they do. They are still people.

If I could nominate her for a Nobel prize, I would. But I have a feeling that there are many people doing the same type of work just like her. However, I do want to hear her on TED Talks. She is truly inspirational and her book is a must-read. You may not agree with the methods or policies and you may not like who the "people most at risk" are, but it is important to know for preventative measures. This IS something that can be fought with good prevention policies, and there are some innocent victims.