One of the people I admire the most is James Nachtwey, ever since seeing “War Photographer“, the documentary about him. I have watched it four or five times by now, and each time I’m deeply moved both by his photographs and his refusal to become cynical despite the atrocities and suffering he has witnessed.

“Reticent about discussing his own life beyond the basic facts, he’s clearly one of those rare characters who focus singularly on their work with a missionary-like sense of purpose.”
– Salon.com

In 2007, he was the recipient of the TED Prize, which grants $100,000 and “one wish to change the world”:

http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf

His wish was for TED to help him “share a vital story with the world”. The story he chose to cover is the growing epidemic of an extremely drug resistant strain of tubercolosis. His pictures have just now been posted on TED:

http://static.videoegg.com/ted2/flash/loader.swf

You can help by visiting XDRTB.org, signing the petition, and spreading the word. There is no donation link on the XDRTB site, but on Action.org. If you’re a microbiologist, perhaps you can do even more!