Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which is leading South Africa's fight against AIDS, is the recipient of the 2003 Nelson Mandela Health and Human Rights Award. Since 1998, TAC has mobilized thousands in South Africa to advocate for universal access to lifesaving AIDS treatment. TAC challenges unjust corporate and government policies, de-stigmatizes HIV/AIDS, educates people about prevention, testing and treatment, and empowers people with HIV/AIDS. In the past 6 months, TAC has suffered the loss of over 100 core activists, who did not have access to treatment. Recognizing that it will be years before the government can provide medication to everyone in need, TAC launched the Treatment Project. TAC Treatment Project works to: Treat TAC activists and an equal number of South Africans who are not TAC members Assist the government in piloting anti-retroviral therapy Allow ordinary people to make a contribution to saving lives Zackie and Nonkosi are in the U.S. raising awareness and funds to support TAC's pivotal efforts and to enable the TAC Treatment Project to save the lives of those who will ensure government promises are kept, thereby saving the lives of millions more. Nonkosi Khumalo, TAC's Women's Health Coordinator and a leader in her own right, joins Zackie on this momentous West Coast trip. Nonkosi works to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, build local branches of TAC, increase treatment literacy and advance women's health in South Africa's poorest regions. Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) is a non-profit organization which works to combat the AIDS pandemic globally and in South Africa and to increase equality and civil rights in South Africa and the U.S. In partnership with South African and American organizations and activists, ANSA works to make a difference through grantmaking, public education, advocacy, provision of medical supplies and increasing international awareness and support. ANSA was founded in 1989 to support South Africa's quest for freedom. In August 2003, Carlos and Deborah Santana launched ANSA's Amandla AIDS Fund with a gift of $2.5 million. The Fund's first grant of $500,000 was awarded to TAC and TAC Treatment Project: $250,000 in direct funding, and $250,000 in matching funds to encourage others in the U.S. to support this urgent work. Since 1995, ANSA has raised over $8 million for effective South African organizations. If you have questions or would like additional information about this event, please contact Artists for a New South Africa. Phone: 310-204-1748 Fax: 310-204-4277 Address: 2999 Overland Avenue, Suite 102, Los Angeles, CA 90064 We are grateful to the following for generously sponsoring this event: * The Regent Showcase Theater * Oasis Tapas Restaurant * Le Montrose Suite Hotel * Great Wines International * Invitation design by Tim Gleason * Printing donated by MGF Graphics * Lewis Payton, Event Photographer Gillian Anderson Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson Danny Glover Robert Guillaume Alexandra Paul Blair Underwood ACLU of Southern California AIDS Healthcare Foundation AIDS Project Los Angeles The Amy Biehl Foundation Artists for Amnesty Black AIDS Institute CAA Foundation City of West Hollywood Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Elton John AIDS Foundation Feminist Majority Foundation FilmAid International International Medical Corps John M. Lloyd Foundation L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center Liberty Hill Foundation Magic Johnson Foundation Minority AIDS Project Operation USA OUTFEST Rock the Vote UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center USA for Africa and Artists for a New South Africa New Yorker Article Time Article New York Times Article