A World Without AIDS
The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is leadership. A world without AIDS requires strong leadership—leadership from governments, institutions, organizations, coalitions, and individuals.
In this issue we asked a few individuals within the HIV/AIDS community what leadership means to them. As you’ll see from their responses, leadership can mean different things to different people.
I feel fortunate to have known and worked with some individuals in my lifetime who I consider to be leaders. A leader to me is someone who leads by example—someone who creates a spark within me, a desire to emulate the manner in which they carry themselves throughout life. It’s not necessarily the specific thing they do that’s important, but rather it is the truth within them that reaches out to me, and speaks to my heart, and my passion.
Leaders I have known have oftentimes been charismatic, but they’ve also at times been quite unassuming. Their aspirations always seem to include the betterment and welfare of others who may or may not be as fortunate as they are. They invariably seek to uncover the qualities in another which make that individual unique and special, and work to bring out the best in them—and they frequently do so without the other person realizing it’s taking place, which is a gift in itself.
As we in the U.S. and around the world turn to our leaders for direction during these worrisome and troubling economic times, so too do we in the HIV/AIDS community yearn and hunger for strong leadership. Leadership which will guide and steer us towards better treatment options that are more tolerable and easier to take; improved access to care worldwide, as well as for the millions of those in the U.S. who lack insurance; more effective prevention methods, including behavioral interventions, microbicides (both vaginal and rectal) and PREP; and the research and development of immune-based therapies and vaccines.
Of course all this takes a great deal of forethought, funding, and a concerted and collaborative effort—an international AIDS strategy based on sound science and policy. We cannot afford a bailout in this current AIDS crisis, it’s much too late for that. We’ve already paid the price in rising infection rates, spiraling healthcare costs, and millions of AIDS orphans—and the ultimate price—60 millions deaths worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic.
We need leaders who can step back, look at the big picture, and take us to the next level. But to lay out a broad and effective plan, one that includes all of the many elements and stakeholders, we first need to be able to visualize what our final objective is—a world without AIDS.
As I approach 50, and having tested positive when I was still only 30 years old, I have known AIDS, like many of you, most of my adult life, and known it intimately. While I feel fortunate to still be here, I wonder if I have become too complacent in my seeming acceptance of AIDS as part of my world, the world as I see it. Is it insurmountable? Will HIV/AIDS ever be eradicated, or will we ever find a cure? Or will it always be here to remind us of our failure to respond soon enough, or of something which can never be achieved?
Maybe it’s an opportunity to learn what it is we as human beings need to do to in order to leave this world a better place than it was when we entered into it.
In this issue you’ll read about Seane Corn, who’s featured on the cover, and her fascinating journey of self-discovery—a journey which has taken her around the world, teaching the healing power of yoga to individuals who are infected with and at risk for HIV. As I interviewed Seane and listened to her tell her story, I kept hearing that famous quote over and over again in my mind, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”
We have a special section in this issue with a report back on some of the highlights from the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, which took place earlier this year, including some of the interesting prevention discussions that took place. But what would coverage from a conference be without data, right? So we’ve included an article by Amy Cutrell, which is sort of a primer on statistics, to help you decipher all the data.
We’d also like to hear from you, our readers, and what leadership means to you. So visit us online at www.positivelyaware.com, and take our online poll—and please fill out our 2008 Reader Survey on page 63, which is also available online, to help us better serve you. And join our growing online community to discuss with your peers the important issues which we all face on a daily basis.
In the end, and at the risk of sounding too clichéd, it does take a village. And it will ultimately require some added effort, extra precautions, and in some cases further sacrifices, from each and every one of us, to get through not only the current economic crisis, but to ultimately create the village where we all eventually want to reside—one that exists in a world without AIDS.
Take care of yourself, and each other.
Jeff Berry
Editor
publications@tpan.com
Discuss this column in our new discussion forum
|
