Since Aids first became a global awareness issue, there were two things we knew for certain: it was a guaranteed death sentence, and there was no cure.

We have managed to overturn the certainty of the first axiom. Hundreds of thousands of people are living fruitful lives, though they live it with the spectre of Aids hovering above them.

As to the second axiom, despite every effort by some very talented people, we have never found a cure. For many, the hope that we would ever find one was put aside.

And then there was Timothy Brown.

Whether by medical miracle, sheer chance or talented guesswork, the medical community is in agreement about one thing as far as he is concerned: he had Aids – and now he does not anymore. The story of Brown being cured of Aids is explained in more detail on page 14, and I encourage everyone to read it.

Elsewhere in this edition, we look at life for HIV-positive prisoners and the efforts of South Africa’s universities in the battle against HIV.

Closing out this issue is the bittersweet story of Mandisa Dlamini, whose mother was murdered due to her killers’ ignorance about HIV/Aids. Mandisa recounted her story at the 5th South African AIDS Conference in Durban where she delivered the Nkosi Johnson Memorial Lecture. Read it on page 36.

Until the next issue!