U.N. AIDS envoy named <I>Maclean's</I> Canadian of the Year (10883)

Maclean's magazine has named Stephen Lewis, United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, as its inaugural Canadian of the Year for his "vision, perseverance, and, above all, his passion" in the fight against AIDS. The yearly award was established by the magazine to honor the humanitarian efforts of Canadian citizens. Lewis, who lives in Toronto, was honored by the magazine for helping to urge Canadian lawmakers into changing that nation's drug patent laws to allow for the manufacture and export of cheap, generic versions of anti-HIV medications as well as working with the World Health Organization to launch a global HIV treatment program.

"When people are dying by the thousands every day, unnecessarily, when we've had this horrendous pandemic unfold for two decades while the world stands by and watches--you'll do anything in your power to move the process," Lewis told Maclean's of his dedication to AIDS issues.