November 2003

U.S. Conference on AIDS

by Chris Haley-Walden

Chris Haley-WaldenThe United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) is America’s largest annual HIV-related gathering. This year it was held in New Orleans on September 17–21. On behalf of NEAC, Executive director Bill Frampton and I attended, along with 4,000 other AIDS activists, HIV services providers, and people living with HIV.

At one of the plenary sessions, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called for increased access to rapid HIV tests to help identify and hopefully get into treatment the 280,000 or more people living with HIV in the U.S. who are unaware of their status. She spoke of Uganda’s successful “ABC” campaign promoting “abstinence,” “being faithful,” and using “condoms” correctly and consistently for all sexual activity, but she warned that that strategy is not enough. Dr. Gerberding said that getting more people tested will help the CDC reach its five-year goal of decreasing the number of new infections in the United States from 40,000 per year to 20,000.

Dr. David Ho, founding scientific director and chief executive officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, helped develop the highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), better known as the “HIV cocktail.” In his keynote address he said that scientists must keep at the fore of their research activities an HIV vaccine. He added that while he and fellow researchers are working on three potential vaccines, such a vaccine is still “years away.”

Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, spoke of the continued government budget cuts that are affecting the healthcare of millions of Americans, particularly the poor and disenfranchised. Saying the current administration will continue this pattern of cuts, he called for activists who are attending the USCA meeting and beyond to speak out against such injustices.

As Bill Frampton said, the USCA is “one of the best means of networking with others involved in the fight against HIV. The conference provides the opportunity for organizations such as NEAC to engage with leaders and other staff members from places such as the CDC in a much more cost-effective and efficient way than traveling for a brief meeting with officials in their headquarters.”

According to the executive director of an AIDS service organization in El Paso, the USCA is also a great opportunity to meet with prospective funders and collaborators. He said his investment in time and money in the conference generally results in additional funding and valuable contacts for his organization. The USCA is also a wonderful way for people involved in the HIV struggle to re-energize and renew their commitment to the fight against HIV, and to feel part of a large, diverse community of people working together for a common cause. My own opinion is that the battle against this terrible disease can sometimes feel very lonely, and it seems like fewer people are concerned about HIV in the U.S. any more. Being surrounded by 4,000 other people who are passionate about caring for people living with HIV and preventing further infections is a powerful reminder that we aren’t alone in this fight.

It was good for us to have the opportunity to represent the Episcopal Church and NEAC at the conference and to remind the rest of the country that our church is still very much concerned about HIV in our country and abroad.

More information: www.nmac.org, conferences link.