Fire in the Blood, a documentary by Dylan Mohan Gray, investigates the injustice of AIDS treatment in Africa, millions of people who die every year just because they cannot afford the antiretroviral drug that could have saved their lives. The documentary describes how Western pharmaceutical companies together with the US and European governments keep cheap drugs out of the reach of poor African citizens affected by HIV and leave them to suffer. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Filming emotionally charged images of victims for activists, advocates and scientists, Gray teases out some problematic facts. Respondents' intense and disturbing responses such as "The only reason we are dying is because we are poor" weaken the public and push them to discuss health care inequality. The film illustrates the inequality that Farmer talks about in his article. The disease outcome of the mass population infected with HIV AIDS, who clearly had no control over it, was death because social and economic factors did not contribute to the outcome; once again clearly underlining that providing biomedical solutions to healthcare problems alone cannot support a positive outcome. What's the point of medical innovations if people can't *use* them. What is the purpose of medical innovations if people are not allowed to use them? The film also shows a power structure that oppresses the powerless, to the point that the end result is death itself. Although research into life-saving drugs is largely publicly funded, drug distribution is controlled by large corporations who use their government-granted monopoly to price their drugs, resulting in them being accessible only to privileged nations. This is an example of structural violence. Who has the power left? The film also raises some ethical questions. Why doesn't the government ask anything from patent holders? Should pharmaceutical companies have a moral obligation to save lives? Should the patent holder regime be reformed? The film, although one-sided, conveys the message well that patent laws reinforce inequality and as long as inequalities persist, the poor will continue to suffer. Factors that can be controlled at the individual level must be so controlled, but factors that are out of reach must be taken into account by the government. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize EssayUnless the external factor that cannot be controlled by the victim is controlled by the government, individual efforts are of no use. Policies, health programs and the allocation of funds must all take place with reference to the biomedical and social factors of health.
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