The POZ Army: How We End AIDS Together
This summer, thanks to a rare confluence of events, the HIV/AIDS community will have an extraordinary opportunity to help save the lives of tens of millions of people living with the virus. In preparation, we want you to join the POZ Army. We are preparing for the final battle in the war on AIDS—the surge for the cure.
This July, the steamy, magnolia-lined streets of our nation’s capital will teem with 30,000 people who’ve traveled from the four corners of the globe to Washington, DC, for the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). The reality is AIDS remains a raging pandemic. But, we have the power to end it if we do the right things at the right levels right now. It is time to reawaken the world to these facts.
There is no time to waste. The good news: We have antiretroviral treatment capable of both keeping people alive and slowing the spread of the disease. The challenge? Of the 34 million people estimated to be living with HIV, only 6 million are currently in care. On World AIDS Day 2011, President Barack Obama pledged to put 2 million more in care, bringing the global total to 8 million by 2013. But that still leaves 26 million lives—about 750,000 in the United States—hanging in the balance. And new infections occur daily. AIDS can only be prevented in those who access treatment. For the rest? A diagnosis of HIV remains, ultimately, a death sentence. Which is why the HIV/AIDS community must capitalize on this rare confluence of events to reignite the fight for the real end of AIDS—the cure.
Treatment is necessary to keep people alive until we cure HIV. Treatment can slow the spread of the virus, and treatment may be a piece of the cure. But treatment is a means to an end; it should not be the endgame. Those of us living with HIV should not settle for a lifetime of pills with side effects. We should settle for nothing less than the cure.
We must take advantage of this perfect storm of opportunity. To do so, we must mobilize our community to change history for all people living with HIV.
This is where you come in. Social change happens when many advocates cry out together, loudly, in unison. It’s the only way to break through the din. To help our community amplify its collective voice, POZ is launching the POZ Army.
poz army