Our Forgotten Epidemic

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa (formerly New Zealand AIDS Foundation)•www.burnettfoundation.org.nz

Our Forgotten Epidemic is a six-part series about Aotearoa New Zealand's response to HIV and AIDS, and some of the many brave individuals who changed the course of history.

Now, you might already be aware of the AIDS epidemic. But this is a version of the story you likely haven't heard — a story of perseverance, tragedy and above all hope.

Told through interviews, archival audio, and historical sources, this podcast examines the past 40 years of HIV and AIDS in Aotearoa.

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa is proud to share the parts of the story we do have the privilege to tell.

Last refreshed: July 17th, 2025 at 2:21 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Part 6: Our future is our past

There’s a lot to be proud of in the response to HIV and AIDS in Aotearoa. We’ve come a long way since the early 1980s — but the mahi isn’t over just yet. Since the discovery of life-saving treatment, much has happened in the HIV space. Prevention, testing, treatment, combating HIV stigma, and educating the public have never been more important. This is not the end of, or the whole story, but a beginning. In this very short series, we’ve been proud to share parts of this important legacy. Still, ...

Sep 26, 2022•39 min•Ep. 6

Part 5: Do we dare to hope?

In 1995, the New York Times reported that complications from AIDS were the leading cause of death for adults aged 25-44 in the US. Although Aotearoa still had relatively low rates of around 100 cases per year, public perception of HIV and AIDS had shifted. AIDS could no longer be reduced to a ‘gay disease’ or ‘a disease of the Hs’ (homosexuals, heroin users, haemophiliacs, and Haitians). It could affect anyone. Finding effective treatment was a race against the clock, a battle that the world nee...

Sep 12, 2022•43 min•Ep. 5

Part 4: How we lost so many

By the mid-1980s, knowledge of HIV and AIDS had entered the public consciousness. Safer sex practices and prevention messaging were being promoted by advocacy and support groups, medical organisations and the government. But an HIV diagnosis was still considered by many to be a death sentence. There was no treatment in those years, and, for most, the only support that could be offered was grief counselling and palliative care. Jane Bruning, Bruce Kilmister and Michael Stevens, long-term survivor...

Aug 29, 2022•56 min•Ep. 4

Part 3: Our communities take action

The people most affected by AIDS in the early 1980s were gay men, people who injected drugs and sex workers — those who were already on the margins of society. At that time in New Zealand, all anal sex, the possession of drug paraphernalia and sex work were illegal. As the threat of HIV and AIDS became more widely known, the stigma and discrimination these communities faced only intensified. Something had to change — starting with those archaic laws. This was an ugly time for our nation; but it ...

Aug 15, 2022•52 min•Ep. 3

Part 2: Who was Bruce Burnett?

Bruce Burnett is a name everyone should know — a name that should sit alongside all of New Zealand’s heroes. Instead, until recently, his legacy seemed to be in danger of being forgotten — other than by the people he worked with, those whose lives were saved by his actions, and the organisation that now bears his name. Bruce’s selfless contributions to our nation saved countless lives, and we owe it to him to remember who he was. Thanks for listening to Our Forgotten Epidemic, a show about Aotea...

Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 2

Part 1: An epidemic arrives

In the early 1980s, people in Aotearoa started hearing rumours of a new, mystery illness that seemed to mostly be killing gay men overseas. Early rhetoric around the illness, still without an official name or known means of acquisition, was overtly homophobic and harmful. Rainbow media, such as Pink Triangle, the newspaper of the National Gay Rights Coalition of New Zealand, had some early articles in their health sections. But, on the whole, the government, mainstream media, the wider public, a...

Jul 18, 2022•46 min•Ep. 1

'Our Forgotten Epidemic' launches on Tue 19 Jul 2022

Our Forgotten Epidemic is a six-part series about Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to HIV and AIDS, and some of the many brave individuals who changed the course of history. Thanks for listening to Our Forgotten Epidemic, a show about Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to HIV and AIDS, and some of the many brave individuals who changed the course of history. Burnett Foundation Aotearoa is proud to be able to tell part of this important story from the perspectives of some truly remarkable people. And...

Jun 20, 2022•4 min

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