And so it begins.
World AIDS Day was earlier this week, and this event, as always, has brought HIV and AIDS issues to the forefront of news and discussion around the world. Indeed, there has been much to talk about, not the least of which is the recent progress on an AIDS Vaccine by French researchers in a study conducted in Brazil. Before you get too excited though, the vaccine is not preventative or curative, but just one more in a long list of HIV treatments. Nevertheless, any treatment that reduces viral load by 80% in four months is a huge step in the right direction.
Elsewhere in the world, governments are stepping up the battle against AIDS, including Mexico, Canada, and parts of Africa. Uganda in particular has managed to reduce its HIV prevalence rate from 30% to 6% since the early '90s.
It isn't all good news though. The rate of new infections in the USA remains unchanged, even after three years of stepped-up prevention efforts by the CDC. I do not find this surprising, given the sluggish flow of federal dollars and the current administration's ignorance of the nature of AIDS in the USA as well as its refusal to endorse prevention education that emphasizes any type of risk reduction activities other than abstenance-before-marriage.
Unfortunately we are 363 days away from World AIDS day 2005, and so it is inevitable that many will again slip into complacency, apathy, and ignorance. Nevertheless, I am hopeful. This was my first World AIDS day since 1999 when I was not working for an AIDS service organization, and I was thrilled with the number of AIDS ribbons I saw on people throughout my day. The world is beginning to wake up to the crisis that is at hand.
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