There actually was a time where AIDS did not exist. I vaguely remember when it seemed to just freakishly appear out of nowhere. Back in the 80’s as a young child, I recall hearing about the first cases of this horrible disease that no one knew about or understood and was taking so many lives. Anyone that was diagnosed basically received their death sentence, period, end of story. The disease affected people of every race, creed, color, sexual orientation and financial status. It was, and still is, a global pandemic tormenting all types of people all over the world.

So much has been done over the years, with progress continuing to be made every day.  The ongoing efforts made by researchers, healthcare professionals, non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, activists, and people all over the globe have decreased the number of new cases and helped thousands of people to receive life-saving treatment. Still, 30 years after the disease was discovered, we are still fighting to stop it.

Hopefully you are not like me. I know how terrible the disease is but I can honestly say that I have become disconnected from it over the years. Besides purchasing a RED shirt from the Gap a few years ago, I can’t say that I have done my part.  Like most other people I can make the excuse that it’s tough in this economy to support every good cause and I do my best, but AIDS kind of fell by the wayside. And is it just me, or do we not hear as much these days about the AIDS cause as we used to?

Apparently it is not only me who has become complacent.

“It’s very striking that in the wealthy countries there is a perception that AIDS is over — there is far less investment in education programs.  The availability of treatment has resulted in a complacency which is becoming really dangerous.  Considering that today we’ve got as many new infections in Western Europe and North America as 10 years ago, there is no excuse for that.”  said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS.

The annual AIDS Epidemic Update released on November 28th 2011 predicted there will be 45,000 new cases this year in North America and 30,000 in Western Europe. Nearly 1.5 million people in the industrialized countries will be living with the AIDS virus by the end of the year. I guess we need to move AIDS back to the front burner. This fight ain’t over yet.

Today is World AIDS Day and this years’ theme is “Getting to Zero.” Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths.  I watched “Beginning of the End of Aids”, the One Campaign to end AIDS by 2015 LIVE on YouTube:

Speeches were given by George Bush, Bill Clinton, President Obama, Bono, Alicia Keys and several others. The work of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) was mentioned as well as the dynamic plan announced by Hillary Clinton in early November stating that if three key interventions are taken, there may be a possibility of breaking the cycle of new HIV infections. The three interventions are prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, and antiretroviral treatment as prevention.

Some other interesting points in the speeches today:

• Clinton stated that countries that were providing aid monies need to make sure that the money is spent in the country and on the people that it was intended for. He said that currently only about 50% of funds are used how they were intended.
• We need to continue to invest in AIDS treatment and prevention programs. We need countries that promised to provide the contributions to actually do so and other countries that haven’t been involved previously, need to get involved.
• Clinton also stated that the pharmaceutical companies producing the antiretroviral treatments in the US need to be negotiated with. They currently produce on almost a sliding scale – they charge the wealthier countries more for the drugs than they do for the developing nations. He recommended that politicians negotiate for the US to receive the drugs at the lower generic costs for the next 2 years until the economy improves.
• Churches need to take a more active role with HIV/AIDS education, testing and providing care for patients or children of patients.
• There is still a stigma associated with AIDS which has a profound effect on the epidemic’s course. The WHO (World Health Organization) cites fear of stigma and discrimination as the main reason why people are reluctant to be tested, to disclose their HIV status or to be treated.
• We still do not encourage HIV testing enough. An unwillingness to be tested for HIV means that more people are diagnosed late, when the virus has already progressed to AIDS, making treatment less effective and causing early death.

After hearing the speeches for the campaign today, it does really seem possible that we can put an end to AIDS within the next few years as long as we continue fighting. Hearing a story told by Bono brought a tear to my eye. He described a time that he was visiting an AIDS canteen in Africa and discovered that all of the activists working there were HIV positive themselves and were not being treated. When the drugs arrived to the canteen the activists began fighting over the drugs and who would get them [as you would expect]. [As you wouldn’t expect] they were not fighting for the drugs for themselves; they pledged that they were the least important persons. They wanted the drugs for the victims they were there fighting for.

So as this World Aids Day continues we need to go beyond wearing the red ribbon, keep fighting and Get to Zero.