Hey eveyone I found this article about Rodrigo Pascal who helps people be informed about AIDS. Rodrigo is creating a model for citizen response to turn the formerly specialized problem of HIV/AIDS into a public health concern in which everyone has a stake. He brings together grassroots groups created by and for people with HIV/AIDS to advocate for health and labor rights and to work in coordination with the public health system to help meet the needs of this population. Rodrigo's initiative is the first response to the AIDS problem in Chile led by the affected people themselves.
Unlike organizations that provide services only to people with AIDS, Rodrigo's organization, Vivo Positivo, is transforming the way the disease is dealt with by changing attitudes and systems within the current legal and health structures of the country. Rodrigo integrates grassroots prevention groups into public health centers to provide better care, and he empowers people with HIV/AIDS to become advocates for themselves. Although his ideas for changing society's response to major health issues have evolved specifically for people living with HIV, they have the potential to address the needs of other groups and ultimately to change the structure of the public health system.
http://www.ashoka.org/node/3450
