Big Mama, the head of the clan, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening case of tuberculosis. She is hospitalized in the nearest town which is hundreds of miles away from the village. Without her presence, the clan finds it hard to cope. On top of their worries about losing her, they have to deal with a mysterious cattle disease that is killing their herd at an alarming rate. The film follows three generations of strong Himba women, as they raise their children, trying to cope with the immense difficulties to simply survive.
Director: Erez Laufer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nambia, Himba, HIV/AIDS, women, family, health

Curse of Congo (The): A Story of Wealth, Exploitation, and Ruin (DVD : 57 min. )  [2002]
DVD 8650
Abstract: Reports on the bleak prospects of the noncombatant Congolese population, caught in the crossfire of opposing armies, decimated by disease and malnutrition, and exploited by the greed of others for their nation's valuable natural resources.
Director: hosted by Ted Koppel Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Congo, history, war, health, economics, politics

Dancing on the Edge (Videocassette : 40 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8245
Abstract: This narrative documentary is set in rural Mozambique, where gender roles and poverty influence the fight to contain the spread of AIDS. A young HIV positive mother, Antonietta, who works as an AIDS counselor takes her healthy daughter to a remote village for initiation into sexuality. Antonietta struggles with the contradictions of maintaining traditional values while adapting to the reality of the modern world devastated by AIDS. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of IV/AIDS (Volume 6).
Director: Karen Boswall Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, gender, ritual, rural life, Steps for the Future

Dead Mums Don't Cry (DVD : 49 min. )  [2006]
DVD 7635
Abstract: Becoming a mother in Africa can be among the most frightening and dangerous jobs in the world. This program investigates why more than half a million women die every year in pregnancy and childbirth. Dead Mums Don't Cry documents one woman's remarkable struggle to stop mothers in her country from dying. She's Grace Kodindo - an obstetrician in the poverty-stricken central African country of Chad. Women in Chad have a 1 in 11 chance of dying during pregnancy or in childbirth. The risk for women in the UK is 1 in 5100. Cutting maternal mortality by 75% by 2015 was one of the eight Millennium Development Goals set by 189 countries in 2000. Five years on, progress is far behind schedule - and this film reveals it's slowest on the goals that affect women and children. But Dead Mums Don't Cry shows there is reason for hope. A few poor countries have succeeded in saving mothers' lives. BBC reporter Steve Bradshaw and Grace Kodindo travel to Honduras, which has cut maternal mortality far faster than some wealthier neighbors. A key reason is that influential men and women cared enough to make the issue a priority.
Director: Grace Kodindo, Tristan Quinn Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Chad, pregnancy, motherhood, health, development

Donka (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3799
Abstract: This film follows daily life in the largest public hospital in the Republic of Guinea, Donka Hospital in Conakry. Writer/director: Thierry Michel. Producer: Christine Pireaux.
Director: Thierry Michel Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Guinea, medical care, health, social conditions, urban life

Dream Deferred: Africa's AIDS Crisis (The) (Videocassette : 57 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6637
Abstract: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has struck Africa with horrific force-- more than 3.8 million people were infected in 2000. Many of these people will die within a decade. In A Dream Deferred, CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault takes a look at the lives of six South Africans who illuminate the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping the continent.
Director: Sandy Balfour Distributor:Multivision Media Monitoring
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, economy

Ebola War: the Nurses of Gulu (Videocassette : 46 min. )  [2002]
VHS 9185
Abstract: Ebola is one of the most contagious and frightening diseases that exist today. It can kill its victim in as little as 48 hours. When it broke out in Northern Uganda, there were scant resources and little knowledge about how to deal with it at Lacor Hospital, in Gulu, Uganda. For nearly a month, medical staff treated Ebola patients without knowing what it was. Soon, however, it became clear that the nursing and medical staff were at risk from this hemorrhagic disease. In the end, thirteen nurses and the medical superintendent, Dr. Mathew Lukwiya, died from the disease. In Ebola War, the nurses tell the emotional stories of how they struggled to contain the outbreak. Medical teams had to go into the war-ravaged countryside to test and educate the population to isolate those infected. Through interviews, personal accounts and archival footage, this intimate and moving film documents a five-month heroic battle in an African hospital against a modern-day plague, and the final triumph over the outbreak.
Director: Yoti Zabulon, Bonnie Henry Distributor:Filmakers Library, NY
Keywords: Uganda, disease control, ebola virus, hemorrhagic fever, health education

Faces of AIDS (The) (Videocassette : 20 min. )  [1992]
WC 503.7 F3 1992 AV (HEALTH)
Abstract: This video shows the human experience of living with AIDS in Africa.
Director: Frances Reid Distributor:Medica for Development International
Keywords: Cameroon, Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, health

Femmes aux yeux ouverts (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4471
Abstract: Surveys social conditions faced by women in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Benin, including circumcision, forced marriage, AIDS, and economic repression. Examines grass-roots efforts toward education and improvement as Africa opens to democracy.
Director: Anne-Laure Folly Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, West Africa, HIV/AIDS, female circumcision, feminism, marriage, health, women

From Congo to Zaire (DVD : 52 min. )  [2001]
DVD 7895
Abstract: The Congo, the largest country in Central Africa, was granted its independence from Belgium in 1960. This riveting historical documentary, using a wealth of archival material, illustrates how the legacy of colonialism effected modern Congo, led first by Patrice Lumumba, then by General Mobutu for thirty years. From 1908, when King Leopold II ceded his land grants to the Belgian people, economic development was seen as the first stage of the process of colonization. A new industrial port, along with road and rail networks, opened up the Congo to overseas trade. The Belgians brought with them an efficient system of administration, education and healthcare. By the end of World War II, the relationship between the colonizers and colonized changed. The pace accelerated towards decolonization. However, independence brought its own problems. Two leaders emerged, Patrice Lumumba and General Mobutu, and conflict between them ended with the murder of Lumumba and Mobutu's seizure of power. From Congo to Zaire takes a fresh look at the Congo's turbulent history and provides new insights into the problems it faces today.
Director: Olivier Moser and Frederic Tadino Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Congo, Zaire, colonialism, history, Mobutu, Lumumba

Gospel of AIDS, or, Dying Is Not a Sin (Videocassette : 57 min. )  [1993]
HEALTH: WC 503 C68 1993 AV
Abstract: Examines conditions affecting the spread of AIDS in (pre-genocide) Rwanda and public response to those infected with the disease.
Director: Gil Courtemanche Distributor:Alter-Ciné
Keywords: Rwanda, HIV/AIDS, poverty, epidemiology, public health

Guinea Worm: The End of the Road (Videocassette : 29 min. )  [1992]
V.CASS. VHS 8727
Abstract: Guinea worm is a water-borne parasite which lodges in the lower extremities of the human body, matures, and then burrows out through the skin. Once prevalent throughout Asia, Africa, and the Americas, 100 million people in India, Pakistan, and western Africa are still at high risk of suffering this disease. The film visits Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana, three of the nations with the greatest incidence of guinea worm, and examines steps being taken to fight this affliction. From the strategic planning level, involving the World Health Organization, Global 2000 and such well known individuals as former President Jimmy Carter, to governments' involvement in implementing workable plans for their countries, and finally to the actual field doctors and villagers who are the 'last battleground,' this film is a case study of a major health initiative at work in the Third World. Narrated by Frank Baker, with commentary by Donald Hopkins, Jimmy Carter, Dan Bloomington, and O. O. Kale.
Director: Sharon K. Baker Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, guinea worm, medicine, public health

Heart of Soweto (The), Part 1: Everything I Never Had (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Rebecca Molete and Eugenia Twala are two of over one thousand mothers who gave birth in Soweto in October 1990. Eugenia wants her baby to have everything she never had, and visits an expensive private clinic. Rebecca is cared for by a local state clinic. The film documents the weeks leading up to her giving birth and provides a portrait of the two women's lifestyle, attitudes and hopes.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, health, political movements

Hospice (The) (Videocassette : 23 min. )  [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8989
Abstract: The Mother of Mercy Hospice on the edge of the capital, Lusaka, was the first of its kind in Zambia. 'Our idea was just to build a simple shelter so people can die with dignity,' says Sister Leonia. Two hundred people a day in Zambia die from HIV/AIDS. Because controlling HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest challenges world health experts face, all the member countries of the United Nations have pledged to 'reverse' the spread of the disease as one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals - a global ambition the international community hopes to achieve by 2015. This film follows the work of the staff and volunteers at the Mother of Mercy Hospice and in the surrounding villages. The courage of patients, the resilience and despair of the staff and the dignity of how they all deal with the almost daily ritual of death combine to give a poignant account of the human face of AIDS in modern Africa.
Director: Kaper Bisgaard Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Zambia, HIV/AIDS, death and dying, health

It's Not Easy (Videocassette : 48 min. )  [1991]
V.CASS. VHS 7537
Abstract: Dramatic representation of middle-class Africans and their struggle to deal with the realities and challenges posed when a married Ugandan business executive contracts HIV and passes the infection to his wife and unborn child.
Director: Faustin J. Misanvu Distributor:Media for Development International
Keywords: Uganda, family life, HIV/AIDS, drama, class, health

Kabala (Videocassette : 112 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9144
Abstract: 'Kabala is a small West African village suffering from a terrible drought. The only source of water is a holy well that shows signs of contamination. The village elders decide that a traditional dance of fire is needed to bring life back to the village. Hamalla (Modibo Traoré), one of the village's many youths, prepares to join this sacred dance until his torch doesn't light, and he is cast out of the ceremony as doubts begin to surface about his legitimacy. Humiliated, he leaves the village and the woman he loves, Sokona (Djénéba Koné ), to work as a dynamite blaster in a distant mine. Four years pass, and Hamalla hears news of tragic fatalities in his village due to the tainted well water. He decides to return home to provide assistance. There he is reunited with Sokona, who is now betrothed to Hamalla's brother, Sériba (Fily Traoré), who already has a pregnant wife. The men's father, Babji (Baba Dabo), attempts to reconcile a violent dispute between his sons, suffering a severe heart attack. On his deathbed, Babji reveals a secret to Hamalla that explains why he was originally cast out of the sacred fire dance ­ Hamalla's mother is the local witch, Bayassa (Nakani Koné). Their love was not allowed to exist; Babji was forced to raise Hamalla with a new wife. Hamalla tries to convince the village elders of the necessity to drill within the sacred well, but his entreaties are presumed to be a desecration of the village's spiritual symbol. Hamalla goes to Bayassa to tell her he knows she is his mother. He also confides his despair over Sokona's pending-marriage to his brother. Bayassa agrees to help Hamalla win back Sokona. Using her magical powers, Bayassa makes Sériba's marriage begin to sour. Sériba is unable to consummate the marriage, bringing much joy and laughter to Sokona and the local women. When Sériba learns of Bayassa's role in his impotence, he seeks the help of a male sorcerer who is unable to combat Bayassa's spell. A furious Sériba sets Bayassa's hut on fire. Hamalla comes to Bayassa's rescue, but his mother is severely burned. Before she dies, Bayassa manages to ensure that Sériba's first wife gives birth to a healthy baby. The sacred well has fallen into further disrepair, but when one of the staunchest objectors to Hamalla's plan falls deathly ill due to drinking the contaminated water, Hamalla makes a new case to the Kabalais of his ability to drill for cleaner water. In light of other recent deaths, the villagers agree to the plan if the Kabalais themselves can work on the project under Hamalla's guidance. When the whole village works on the well, fresh water springs forth --and Sokona is betrothed to Hamalla.' (Synopsis from http://www.globalfilm.org/library.htm) Originally released as a motion picture in 2002
Director: Assane Kouyaté Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, ritual, traditional religion, witchcraft, water, feature film

Khalfan and Zanzibar (Videocassette : 25 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS VHS 7528
Abstract: Story of the life and work of Khalfan Hemed Khalfan, founder of the Zanzibar Association of the Disabled. Also includes scenes from the lives of Zanzibar's disabled and information on the history and culture of Zanzibar.
Director: Lina Fuzzetti, Alfred Guzzetti, and Akos Ostör Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Zanzibar, Tanzania, health, disability, history

Last Child (The): The Global Race to End Polio (DVD : 56 min. )  [2004]
DVD 4337
Abstract: The polio eradication campaign is the largest non-military, global enterprise ever. It involves dozens of organizations, scores of governments, thousands of health workers and millions of volunteers. The Last Child tells the behind-the-scenes story of the global campaign to eradicate polio, the dreaded childhood disease that continues to cripple and kill. From the frontlines in Nigeria, India, Haiti and elsewhere, this film follws the victories and challenges of trying to wipe out a disease worldwide for only the second time in history.
Director: Scott Thigpen Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Nigeria, India, Haiti, polio, public health

Last grave at Dimbaza (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [2006]
VHS 9290
Abstract: Shot illegally in the Republic of South Africa, this documentary exposes the oppression of Blacks and other people designated as 'coloured' under apartheid rule in South Africa. The film contrasts the lives of black and white South Africans, focusing on inequities in housing, education, wages and health care. This is a digitally remastered version of the original 1973 film.
Director: Chris Curling and Pascoe MacFarlane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, economy, apartheid, race, history, politics

Leaving Home for Sugar (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1986]
VHS 9179
Abstract: Leaving Home for Sugar continues the history of sugar, focusing on later developments in the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Following the withdrawal of the Dutch in 1654 from the Brazilian sugar cane industry, the Caribbean became the center of world sugar production. With an ever-increasing demand for sugar in Europe, and as many as 15 million slaves transported from Africa, the West Indian sugar industry was for 200 years one of history's most profitable enterprises. Following Abolition, the plantations of the West Indies declined and the market favored European sugar beet production and newer ventures in the Pacific and Africa. Besides looking at the rise and fall of sugar in the West Indies, the film contrasts two sides of the history of sugar in Zimbabwe: the companies' story of turning semi-desert into model plantations, and the story told by local farm workers who were dispossessed or brought in as forced labor. Today in Europe and North America, the demand for cane sugar is falling as a result of protectionist policies, health concerns, and the use of new artificial sweeteners. The film ends with the multi-national agricultural companies looking for new markets for cane sugar - ironically in the producing countries themselves. Volume 5 of The Commodities Series. A seven part series by Sue Clayton & Jonathan Curling.
Director: Sue Clayton Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Zimbabwe, West Indies, economy, globalization, history, plantation, sugar, slavery

Living in Africa: African Solutions to African Problems (DVD : 150 min. )  [1995]
See individual titles
Abstract: Series of five films (each 30 minutes):

5. A Land of Immense Riches -Mozambique: Once devastated by war, Mozambique now offers positive models for bio-diversity, community conservation and eco-tourism. We meet members of the local community who are working with the conservation authorities to educate people about sustainable harvesting and many other ways of protecting the environment. DVD 8908
Director: Mark Newman Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Maasai, modernization, tourism, economy, development, environment, HIV/AIDS, wildlife conservation, government

Living with AIDS (DVD : 49 min. )  [2005]
DVD 5584
Abstract: In the third of his Living with... series, Sorious Samura works as an orderly in a hospital in Zambia , where the majority of the patients are HIV positive. Confronted on a daily basis with death, he describes his workplace as being like a frontline in a war zone. The staff works under horrendous conditions where protective gloves are a luxury and shrouds for the dead are stained with the blood of previous corpses. In this film, Samura exposes the untold story of AIDS -- how poverty and the complex nature of African culture and sexuality are hampering efforts to eradicate this horrifying disease. He meets characters like Joshua and Lawson who continue to practice unprotected sex despite their HIV positive status, and Precious and Nancy, AIDS orphans who fend for themselves in a world where sex 'flesh to flesh' pays well and offers an easy short term solution. Samura also meets heroines such as Bitonda, who at sixteen is in sole charge of her dying 14 year old brother, an AIDS orphaned cousin as well as her own child. After one month, Samura is left with the realization that for the war against HIV in Africa to be won, poverty, ignorance and African sexual attitudes have to be tackled head on. See also Living with Hunger, Living with Refugees and Living with Illegals.
Director: Sorious Samura, Claudio von Planta Distributor:Insight News Television
Keywords: Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, journalism, orphans, health, medicine

Malaria in an Industrial Society (Videocassette : 57 min. )  [1987]
CWLONG: WY 153 VCN 1987
Abstract: Reviews a case of malaria in a 43 year-old male recently returned from Nigeria. Discusses malaria's global epidemiology, causative parasites, histopathology, and pharmaceutical therapy.
Director: John Roberts Distributor:Hospital Satellite Network
Keywords: Nigeria, United States, malaria, health, epidemiology, medicine

Missing Out: Anemia Threatens the Populations of Niger and Tanzania (Videocassette : 28 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7417
Abstract: In Niger, malnutrition remains the main cause of maternal and infant mortality, and well over half of all pregnant women suffer from iron deficiency anemia. In Tanzania, malaria is blamed for the increase in anemia. In some areas, 93 percent of children suffer from the condition. UNICEF believes that micromultinutrient pills that contain iron folate and other vitamins are the way forward. But is this a sustainable solution for these countries? This program follows two traditional birth attendants as they try to persuade women to take iron folate supplements and visit hospitals, which are often prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, the possibility that donors may pull out of distribution programs is high. Additional material at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1150
Director: Di Tatham Distributor:Bullfrogs Films
Keywords: Niger, Tanzania, women, health, pregnancy, nutrition, poverty, malaria, anemia

Nyamakuta (Videocassette : 32 min. )  [1989]
V. CASS. VHS 4554
Abstract: Mai Mafuta is a nyamakuta ( 'a traditional midwife') in Zimbabwe. Half of all births in the developing world are attended by women like her, without the help of modern medicine. People seek her out because she is skillful, compassionate, and because her grandmother was also a midwife. Five years ago, Mai Mafuta's skills were inadequate to save her own daughter's life, and she died in childbirth. In an attempt to prevent such deaths, over eighty countries have begun training traditional midwives in modern medical methods. Mai Mafuta enrolled in one such program. Now she tries to reconcile what she has learned at the clinic with traditional birth practices. We see her deliver a child on the dirt floor of a hut. Mai Mafuta narrates her own story, giving the audience an intimate view of the lives of Third World women.
Director: Chris Sheppard Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Zimbabwe, health, women, development

Patience and Pinkie: Mother to Child (Videocassette : 44 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8247
Abstract: Follows the lives of two pregnant and HIV-positive women fortunate enough to be on a drug trial at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. The film charts the lives of Kholiwe (Patience) and Ntombekaya (Pinkie), who have made friends at the clinic's support group for HIV-positive mothers as they approach the delivery of their babies. It is about their expectations, hopes, and inevitable fears concerning not only the health of their babies, but the trauma around the disclosure of their status to their families and partners as well. It is also about the commitment of the people at the HIV perinatal clinic. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 8).
Director: Jane Thandi Lipman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, women, pregnancy, counseling, Steps for the Future

Patient Abuse: TAC's Struggle for Treatment Access (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7173
Abstract: The film presents the early missteps by the South African government health officials concerning AIDS. Film follows the controversial statements made by current President Thabo Mbeki which advance doubts that HIV is the cause of AIDS. Treatment Action Campaign challenges pharmaceutical companies for charging high prices for AIDS drugs. Efforts of Zackie Achmat highlighted.
Director: Jack Lewis Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, medical care, health, politics

Paying the Price (Videocassette : 27 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7421
Abstract: Paying the Price investigates the history of AIDS treatment in Africa. It details Uganda's success with a UN-sponsored program of price reduction and medical education, and South Africa's refusal to begin a national AIDS treatment program despite defeating a drug company court challenge to the government's import and manufacture of generic anti-retroviral drugs. Finally, it looks at the success of smaller local programs that are bringing hope for the future to many infected Africans. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1171
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Uganda, South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, politics, drugs

Portrait of Altinè in the Dry Season (Motion Picture : 26 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6297
Abstract: Twenty seven year-old Altinè is a mother of two, living on the plains of Northern Senegal. As we watch her going about her daily chores, rhythmically threshing the millet, cooking over an open fire, she tells us of her aspirations. Her strongest wish is for adequate food, good health, and to remain close to her family. Images of Western life have not penetrated her village,which is three hours from a paved road.
Director: Marco Mensa and Elisa Mereghetti Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Senegal, Fula, women, drought, economics, labor, rural conditions, family

Race Against Time: The AIDS Crisis in Africa (DVD : 48 min. )  [2002]
DVD 8057
Abstract: The AIDS crisis in Africa is an epidemic of staggering proportions. Thirty-six million people are infected with the HIV virus worldwide, with over 25 million of them in Africa, and a staggering number of Africans -- 17 million -- have died. This film is about the inspiring work of Canadian Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa as he searches for solutions to the pandemic ravaging the continent. Lewis describes the 'Herculean effort' that has begun to relieve the suffering. A global trust fund has been set up through the United Nations, which has grown to $1.5 billion. Drug companies have slashed their prices for anti-viral drugs for Africans, and there is now hope for the dying. After years of denial, there is now a new willingness on the part of African leaders to confront the disease. Lewis travels to Zambia and Kenya witnessing the challenges first hand as he talks to widows of AIDS victims, who are often infected themselves. In many instances, these ill women must care for their deceased relatives' children as well as their own, despite their desperate financial situation. On the plus side, he finds many creative, community-based educational programs that feature preventive 'safe sex' songs, dances and dramas.
Director: Stephen Lewis Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Kenya, Zambia, HIV/AIDS, United Nations, politics, health, performance

Right to Choose (The) (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8928
Abstract: Part of a series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. Nibret is eleven -- and they're marrying her off to a man she's never met. Forced marriage isn't unusual in northern Ethiopia -- it helps to cement ties between families and establish land rights. Some Islamic leaders in northern Nigeria also advocate child-marriage. They believe women's role is to comfort men, and see nothing wrong with marrying girls as young as seven, often in polygamous marriages. This program reports on the dissonant voices arguing for change in local cultures -- and calls for reproductive health care and primary education for women and looks at widespread discrimination and violence against women.
Director: Charlotte Metcalf Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, Nigeria, women, children, marriage, human rights, land, education

Sangoma: Traditional Healers in Modern Society (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 2960
Abstract: A documentary on traditional healers in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. The film addresses how they are being integrated into the new South Africa's health care system in the area of AIDS education and plant conservation. Produced by Peter Davis and Harvey McKinnon.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, HIV/AIDS, medicine, health, traditional healing

Sankara (Videocassette : 20 min. )  [1991]
VHS 9318
Abstract: Thomas Sankara, the late President of Burkina Faso, emerged as an idealist in a generation of young African leaders more concerned with material wealth. In office, he engineered drastic improvements, from the symbolic change of the country's name from the colonial Upper Volta to Burkina Faso ('The Country of Free and Dignified People'), to providing real health care for the country's children. On October 15, 1987, Sankara fell prey to violent African politics when he was assassinated by troops loyal to Blaise Campaore, his second in command - and life long friend.
Director: Balufa Bakupa-Kanyinda Distributor:First Run Icarus Films
Keywords: Burkina Faso, Upper Volta, history, government, politics

Scenarios from the Sahel: Young People Against AIDS! (Videocassette : 60 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7670
Abstract: A collection of short films about HIV/AIDS by leading African directors, based on original ideas by young Africans. Contents: My Brother; The General Assembly of Diseases; Advice from an Aunt; Uncle Ali; Iron Will; The Voice of Reason; Shared Hope; A Ring on Her Finger; The Shop; To the Rescue; Just Once; For Aïcha; The Warrior. For more on Scenarios from Sahel, see www.globaldialogues.org.
Director: NA Distributor:Global Dialogues
Keywords: West Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, short films, public health

Seeing Is Believing (Videocassette : 23 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8136
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. Health experts have long known that a lack of Vitamin A can lead to serious diseases during childhood, as well as increasing the risk of child and maternal mortality. This segment looks at the country of Zambia as it begins a nationwide program to deliver Vitamin A to its population through sugar fortification as just one part of a multi-pronged strategy.
Director: Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Zambia, economic development, malnutrition, globalization

Shouting Silent (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7761
Abstract: Explores the South African AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to AIDS in 1996. The devastation wrought on the orphaned children of South Africa by the HIV/AIDS pandemic shows how entire generations of young people are growing up without parents.
Director: Renée Rosen Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, health, orphans

Side by Side (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 2863
Abstract: Follows a social worker and a theater director/magazine editor as each uses her skills to overcome the effects of AIDS.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, health, gender, development

Silent Killer: AIDS in South Africa, The (DVD : 52 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8142
Abstract: South Africa is hard hit by the HIV epidemic which is infecting more than 1500 people per day. At Johannesburg's biggest hospitals, forty to fifty percent of the beds are occupied by patients with AIDS-related infections It is estimated that one fourth of the population will be affected soon. The history of social and economic division that still continues in South Africa is reflected in the way the disease has spread. Poor black women in the townships get only inferior mixtures of AZT to prevent their babies from being born infected. They do not get the information necessary to prevent infection. The disease is not confined to the poor, for affluent whites are also affected by HIV. We hear from patients, social workers, medical experts and government policy makers on the magnitude of the problem.
Director: Marika Griehsel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, HIV/AIDS, health, race, government

Spares & Besties (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6955
Abstract: A sexuality, HIV/AIDS video workshop for youth. Produced with the help of the students of Guguletu Comprehensive and Tafelsig Senior Secondary in Cape Town, young men and women discuss their experiences of sex with startling frankness. The programme is not a safer sex information tape. Rather, it seeks to place the basic facts about safer-sex in the context of the real world in which young people are expected to act on this information.
Director: NA Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, sexuality, health, HIV/AIDS, youth, education

Spite: An African Prophet-Healer (DVD : 54 min. )  [1984]
DVD 8394
Abstract: People from all over the Ivory Coast seek out prophet-healers for treatment of their medical and emotional problems. Some of these ailments may be caused by the stress of cultural change. Often Western medicine cannot cure them. This stunningly photographed film focuses on Sebim Odjo, who draws upon Moslem, Christian and traditional African beliefs in his healing ceremonies. He moderates disputes, tracks down the source of illness, and uses his powers to heal. We see a water cure used on a patient ill with spite.
Director: J.P. Colleyn and Catherine De Clippel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Cote D'Ivoire, medicine, religion, health

Steps for the Future (Video Recording Series) (Videocassette NA )  [2001]
See individual titles 25 Cassettes
Abstract: Steps for the Future is a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS. In 25 volumes. See individual title for descriptions: It's My Life, Wa 'N Wina, Simon & I, Looking for Busi, Body & Soul, Night Stop, Dancing on the Edge, A Miner's Tale, Mother to Child, Eclipse, A Fighting Spirit, Imita Ikula, Love in a Time of Sickness, A Red Ribbon Around My House, A Luta Continua, Heavy Traffic, 6000 a Day, Master Positive, Not Afraid, Guilty, The Moment, Dreams of a Good Life, Gotta Give, Ndodii, Big Balls, Ho Ea Rona, Tsoga, Let's Talk About It, Dispel Your Attitude, That's Me, Choose Life, The Ball, The Sky in Her Eyes, True Friends.
Director: Don Edkins (Series Producer) Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, marriage, romance, health, gay and lesbian, Steps for the Future

T-Shirt Travels (DVD : 57 min. )  [2001]
DVD 8789
Abstract: What happens to all those old clothes you bring to the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries? This comprehensive program is about Third World debt and secondhand clothes. The filmmaker travelled to Zambia and was amazed to find almost everyone wearing Calvin Klein, MTV and James Dean t-shirts! Huge bales of American secondhand clothing are sold to African importers, putting the African manufacturers out of business. We see a secondhand clothing dealer in Zambia carefully select a bale among dozens, bundled and shipped from abroad. He pays for the used clothing and then transports it by bus ten hours to a market. His meager profits support his entire extended family who subsist in shanty towns miles from the market. Their lives exemplify the poverty plaguing Africa today. They have virtually no possibility of advancing themselves and their children. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Harvard University Center for International Studies and other experts discuss the history of colonialism, slavery and the depletion of Africa's natural resources. They draw the connection between this shameful legacy and the current huge debt. As the African governments service their debts according to an IMF/World Bank policy known as 'structural adjustment lending,' people's benefits are slashed drastically, resulting in terrible suffering from malnutrition, poor healthcare, inadequate schools and a crumbling infra-structure. Our old t-shirts come with a high price-tag.
Director: Shantha Bloemen Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Zambia, trade, economy, clothing, poverty, history, government, development

Their Brothers' Keepers: Orphaned by AIDS (Videocassette : 56 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 8942
Abstract: Examines the lives and struggles of Zambian children orphaned by AIDS, who must now act as parents for their siblings and peers. Filmed over a seven-month period, Their Brothers' Keepers goes inside Chazanga Compound, a shantytown in Lusaka, Zambia, and follows the day-to-day struggles of two child-headed families. We see how Benny, Dorris and Paul cope with a lack of food, water, health care, and schooling. They scramble for piecework to buy mealie-meal for their younger siblings. Local aid and community workers give support but lack the necessary resources. Foreign aid is too thin to trickle down. The film alternates between the broader view and the personal detail, between tragedy and hope. Stunning photography and an exquisite musical score contrast with the surreal lives of these heroic kids.
Director: Catherine Mullins Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Zambia, Lusaka, children, youth, poverty, HIV/AIDS, orphans, economy

Toro Si Te -- Everything's Fine (DVD : 78 min. )  [2006]
DVD 7205
Abstract: Set in Mali, this film tracks the difficult daily life of a rural doctor as he goes about providing healthcare and hope.
Director: Daisy Lamothe Distributor:Agora Films
Keywords: Mali, health, medicine, development

Uganda: A Different Drummer (Videocassette : 34 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7444
Abstract: Uganda has begun eradicating poverty with a unique approach. Gone is the old way of government telling the poor what's good for them. Instead--via community meetings around the country-- the poor are telling government what they want. The results so far: better healthcare, free elementary education, new roads and agricultural extension programs. The government is further helping with poverty reduction by working with the International Monetary Fund for debt relief. Electronic access at: http://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view1.asp?eventId=54&file=1
Director: Frances Anne Hardin Distributor:International Monetary Fund
Keywords: Uganda, poverty, IMF, development, democracy

Value of Life (The): AIDS in Africa Revisited (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8934
Abstract: Thirty million Africans have HIV/AIDS. In the summer of 2003, two years after the release of his award-winning AIDS documentary RACE AGAINST TIME, United Nations' HIV/AIDS envoy Stephen Lewis returns to Africa and documents his incredible personal journey that has led from hope to despair to hope again. While the world turned its attention away from Africa in the wake of terrorist attacks, in 2003 momentum seems to have returned. There is hope that the epidemic can be helped with new generic anti-retroviral drugs on which Canada is expected to pass legislation.
Director: Judy Jackson Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Africa, HIV/AIDS, public health, medicine, UN, WHO

Witchcraft among the Azande (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1982]
V.CASS. VHS 8701
Abstract: Presents the role of witchcraft among the Azande in spite of their acceptance of Christianity. Focuses on its usage in adjudicating disputes, curing illness, assuring success in the hunt, and purification of the newborn.
Director: André Singer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Sudan, Azande, religion, ritual, health, witchcraft