The beginning of the end of AIDS

Illustration: ONE.org

Today, we find ourselves marking yet another World AIDS Day anniversary. It was 30 years ago last summer that doctors in the United States reported the first case of what was to become known as the AIDS virus. Since June 1981, 30 million people have been killed by HIV/AIDS worldwide and another 34 million are living with the disease today. These staggering statistics are further unbelievable in that approximately 27 million are not being treated or have not even been diagnosed.

It is true that the United States only represents a fraction of the diagnosed cases each year, but we are far from immune to the disease. In our nation’s capital alone, 1 in 20 adults are infected with HIV — 10x higher than anywhere else in America. What began as a disease among gay men has now reached deep within our population. However, today, we know a great deal more about the virus. Having spent billions of dollars on drug research and medicial studies we now understand how it is spread, how it infects and mutates in the body and how it hides from our immune system.

Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS is still incurable. Prevention is the only key in keeping the disease at bay until a cure can be found. Studies have shown that treatment for HIV can lower the risk of transmission by 96% therefore treatment doubles as prevention.

And while the United States is experiencing a worsening economic climate, we cannot afford and cannot allow any more funding slip through the cracks. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that it will not be able to deliver its next round of funding grants and just last week a report by UNAIDS showed an increase in HIV infections in the last year. AIDS relief represents less than 1% of our federal budget and while it may seem insignificant, that fractional amount represents more money spent on AIDS than any other around the world. As America begins to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, let us reassess our priorities and realize that development is far cheaper and far more useful than war.

In what may seem like a time of uncertainty for America’s standing in the world, we must not forget that developmental and humanitarian relief has the power to do what war and traditional diplomacy cannot. Our leadership in global aid and health reminds those who doubt us who we are and what we do. And it is through this leadership that we have shown the ultimate expression of our values.

Last month, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton set for the ambitious goal of an AIDS-free generation; I echo her sentiments in that the past 30 years have been a remarkable journey of discovery and advancement in healthcare. But we must continue to invest in programs that fight the spread of this epidemic like PEPFAR, UNAIDS, and the countless public campaigns around the nation, investments like these are investments in our livelihood. So let us continue to lead the way and be apart of achieving an AIDS-free generation.

I am constantly inspired by the courage of my close friends living with HIV today. Although the hardships they may face in life may seem insurmountable; they overcome. The contraction of HIV is no longer what it once was and the advancements in medicine have made it so that they can live long and relatively healthy lives. They are heroes in that they never give up hope that a cure will be found. They remind me never to forget to fight for this cause and that only through education and prevention will HIV/AIDS be exterminated.

I conclude with these words from the Revered Dr. Cindi Love, whose brother Patrick died of AIDS in 1988. “Each of us is both unique to each of us and absolutely the same — a spiritual DNA that cannot be destroyed by us no matter how hard we try, a gift of life that resides beyond our cellular configurations and beyond labels and stigma — the ones we put on ourselves and the ones others put on us.” — JK