Yesterday, I shared my personal story as an HIV + man as well as some basic facts and figures about AIDS. After several heartfelt and much appreciated comments, my diary slipped off the homepage just as President Obama & Michael Moore exchanged barbs, and the Pooties & Woozles diaries showed up in time for noms & much needed laughter.
Today is December 1, 2009. It is World AIDS Day. I call on you, my online community, to share your stories and share what's happening in your city, state, or nation. And finally, I challenge you by asking, "Do you know your HIV status and that of your partner(s)?"
I tested positive for HIV in 1991. I was in my last year of college and was so devastated, that I thought I might drop out, quit, and wait to die. But I was one of the lucky ones. I had medical insurance, but more than that, I had family and especially my friends to turn to.
Many of the gay men I knew were also positive, and we struggled to make sense of it all. There was, and still is, no cure. But back then, there were no treatments and people died quickly. Although AZT and other anti-viral drugs were slowly developed, they were terribly expensive and often had toxic side effects.
As a community, my friends and I banded together, and muddled through the ACT-UP years with love, laughter, and the inevitable tears. Lots of tears. I watched five of my best friends die from AIDS. All were young men in their 20's and 30's. But I continued to be lucky. My HIV mysteriously remained dormant, and by 1998, when my doctor began testing my viral load, which measures the severity of a viral infection (or indicates how fast the virus is replicating) the results came back that the HIV virus was "virtually undetectable." I force myself to fight the survivor guilt by laughing, and joking that I have "sleepy-time AIDS" virus.
I continue to get regular testing and recently began seeing a new HIV doctor, who has specialized in the care of individuals affected by HIV disease for over 15 years. He is both a national and international leader in the field of HIV research. All this thanks to my job and the luxury of having decent private insurance. But many others are not so lucky. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS over 33.4 million people are living with HIV/AIDS globally. And many don't have access to testing, treatment and other basic health care, much less insurance.
Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS said, "My friends, who could fail to care about the human consequences of HIV? The most recent data...makes for somber reading. Despite tremendous progress with treatment access, we are not there yet. For every person newly on treatment, three more people are newly infected with HIV. On this World AIDS Day we are filled with both hope and concern. Hope because significant progress has been made towards universal access. New HIV infections have dropped. Fewer children are born with HIV. And more than 4 million people are on treatment.
And what is happening closer to home in the 25 year battle with AIDS and HIV? In October, President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. He has also announced the elimination of the HIV entry ban, meaning that people who have HIV and are not U.S. citizens will be able to enter the U.S. starting in January next year. This is a major step in ending the stigma associated with HIV.
But is it enough?
Citing statistics: President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR’s) efforts providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to over 2 million men, women, and children worldwide and PEPFAR's efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission have helped nearly 240,000 HIV-positive mothers give birth to children who are HIV-free; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it is clear that the nation’s investments are having an impact.
"And President Obama is dedicated to enhancing America's leadership in the fight against global AIDS, with PEPFAR serving as the cornerstone of our global health initiative to promote better and more sustainable health outcomes," Clinton said today.
Yet the Obama administration is facing large criticism from global AIDS and Africa solidarity organizations – today smacking the White House with a D+ rating on the work President Obama has done so far in office. -ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
I have to agree with the President when he said on National HIV testing day,"I urge Americans to take control of their own health – and protect those they love – by getting tested for HIV and working to reduce HIV transmission... government can only do so much. Each of us must take responsibility for reducing our risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV and for supporting affected individuals and communities. This means getting tested for HIV and working to end the stigma and discrimination people living with HIV face."
It is in this spirit, and for those friends I've lost, for all those like myself who still struggle daily to live emotionally and physically with the impact of AIDS, that I ask you to help spread the message: Find an HIV Testing Sitenear you and get tested!
Early HIV diagnosis is critical, so people who are infected can fully benefit from available life-saving treatments. Currently, almost 40 percent of people with HIV are not diagnosed until they already have developed AIDS. That can be up to 10 years after they first became infected with HIV. Finding out whether you are infected with HIV is the first step to improving your health and the health of your partners and your family.
And yet, regardless of one's HIV status, you don't have to be infected to be affected. Trite, but true. So true. It has been said that "World AIDS Day isn't exactly a holiday. It's not like you go around wishing friends "Happy Worlds AIDS Day." My friends remind me that "...when midnight strikes and Dec. 1 comes around, the 22-year-old tradition of honoring the lives lost, and noting the advances made in fighting HIV/AIDS, we're more encouraged than ever knowing education about it is reaching the very children who will grow up in a generation that can help eradicate it... let's acknowledge AIDS is a global problem. And its stigmatization ...is just as difficult to eradicate as the virus itself."
What is being done in your community? I've already said I was lucky, and I have to say again that I'm so very lucky (blessed?) to be working for the largest non-profit in Houston, Texas. We make a substantial investment in Legacy Community Health Services, which is a full-service, Community Health Center providing comprehensive, primary health care services to all Houstonians in a culturally sensitive, judgment-free and confidential environment.
Legacy specializes in HIV/AIDS testing and treatment at our Community Health Centers, but also provide care for other chronic health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Generous financial support from individuals, businesses and charitable foundations allows Legacy to provide no-cost or low-cost healthcare services to over 20,000 men, women and children each year.
In addition, Houston is home to AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc (AFH). Their mission is to create positive social impact through the innovative management of HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.
AFH values and respects each person's uniqueness and embraces the philosophy of equality in serving individuals and families in a non-discriminatory manner, in collaboration with clients, organizations, and funding partners. AFH endeavors to meet the needs of its clients through the design, implementation, and evaluation of globally significant programs. With innovative programs in education, disease prevention, and client services, AFH strives to eradicate HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.
I'm also lucky that I have incredible friends. Truly compassionate friends who fight as patient advocates for each other. Friends who have been living with AIDS for 20 + years, and who lead happy, healthy, and productive lives. Over the past two years, I've met one amazing young woman who has gone to Uganda to work for RWEYOWA: Rescue Widows, Elderly, Youth, and Orphans with AIDS. It's basically run by 3 guys, though it has a number of volunteers and patrons that oversee, advise, and work donate their time as well. I recently received an deeply personal and inspirational email from her, highlighted below:
My room is basically a bed, mosquito net, and that's it. I finally bought a mat to lay on the floor so I can actually take my clothes out of my backpack and put them somewhere. It's a comfortable temperature at night--so that's been nice. Nearly everyone has electricity where I live-even the most rundown shack that doesn't look like it could possibly support the wiring for it-at night you'll see a little light bulb burning from the center of the ceiling. Power outages are frequent, though they don't usually last more than a couple of hours and almost always happen at night. We had 3 just this week.
This organization's mission is offer care,support, and assistance to those affected or infected with HIV/AIDS through these main activities: 1.
Voluntary HIV testing and Counseling 2. Sensitization programs to raise
awareness and educate the youth about HIV 3. Community Outreach, whereby
we visit families affected by the disease in some way and provide
support in various forms (counseling, food, treatment referrals, orphan
sponsorships,etc.)
Sensitization: Another one of our programs is the sensitization
program. We go in and talk to the kids in mostly primary schools about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent it. The first school I visited as part of this program was St. John's primary school, a very poor school serving very poor students. The state of the school and even the headmaster's "office" was so rudimentary and bare--I couldn't believe it. The headmaster said he would love it if I would teach English there even just one day a week, so that is what I will be doing. I went this past week and met my future students. I will be there every Thursday and the kids are between 9 and 11 years old. The kids here are so great. They stare at me with huge eyes and giant smiles and are content if I even just acknowledge them with a smile or a wave. I still feel like a huge alien walking around town as the only white person, but at least the kids make me feel a little less alien and a little more rock star:-)
Community Outreach: Then we also have at least one day a week of
community outreach when we go visit some of the beneficiary families
that RWEYOWA is assisting in some way, be it through sponsoring an
orphan, counseling, bringing food and other provisions to the home of
someone who cannot leave home, referring and at times arranging
transport for someone who is ill to get to a clinic. My third day in
Uganda we spent doing outreach and it was an incredibly intense
experience. We visited 4 families in 5 hours walking to neighboring
towns and parishes bringing bags of sugar and maize flour to the
families. Each of the families we visited that day seemed so isolated
and in such dire conditions. On a more positive note, we were also
visited by a man who, I was told, was first visited by RWEYOWA a few
months ago and upon looking at photos he was completely emaciated and
unable to even stand. Now, after gaining access to
ARVs,(anti-retrovirals, drugs used to treat HIV) he looks like an
average guy and is able to work and take care of himself. There simply
aren't words to describe the stark difference--completely unbelievable
and so very encouraging.
For any inquiries on how to:
· Donate
· Volunteer
· Partner with RWEYOWA...
do not hesitate to contact us!
Namasuba Central Zone
Kalibbala Road
300m off Entebbe Highway
P.O Box 15057 Katwe- Kibuye Uganda
Tel: +256 414 595 996
+256 752 876 783
E-mail: info@rweyowa.org
www.rweyowa.org
The following links will take you to other Web sites that provide information on HIV/AIDS and/or HIV testing as well as STDs and/or STD testing. CDC does not necessarily endorse all the information found on these sites.
AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth, and Families
http://www.aids-alliance.org/
AIDSinfo
http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov
American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)
http://www.amfar.org
American Red Cross - HIV/AIDS Education
http://www.redcross.org/...
Banyan Tree Project - National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
http://www.banyantreeproject.org
CDC Division of HIV Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/...
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
http://www.pedaids.org
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - HIV Testing
http://www.fda.gov/...
Gay Men's Health Crisis - HIV Testing
http://www.gmhc.org/...
HIV InSite -Voluntary Counseling & Testing for HIV: Related Resources
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/...
Latino Commission on AIDS - National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD)
http://www.latinoaids.org
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) - National HIV Testing Day
http://www.napwa.org
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
http://www.blackaidsday.org/...
National Institutes of Health (NIH) - HIV/AIDS Diagnosis and Testing
http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/...
National Native American AIDS Prevention Center - National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
http://www.nnaapc.org
University of California San Francisco - Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
http://www.caps.ucsf.edu
Who inspires you? How has AIDS or HIV affected you? Do you know anyone who's living with AIDS or HIV? Have you lost anyone? Please share if you feel you can.
If you are in Houston, I hope you'll join me for a Citywide Candlelight Vigil -5:30 to 7:00pm at Tranquility Park, Downtown Houston.