World AIDS Day

Tuesday, December 1st was World AIDS Day. If you had asked me a year ago when World AIDS Day was or what I did to commemorate that day, sadly, I really wouldn’t have been able to respond. This year was certainly different, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

I think it’s important for all of us, no matter where we live, to be reminded of the realities of HIV across the globe. 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, 2 million of which are children and 22 million of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2 million people died last year, and 2.7 million more became infected. 1.4 million HIV+ women gave birth last year, and over 400,000 children were infected with HIV, primarily through vertical (mother to child) transmission. In South Africa alone, 5.7 million people are living with HIV – roughly 20% of the population. In some places in South Africa, 40% of pregnant women are HIV+.

Those numbers are just unreal. Sometimes the scale of the epidemic can make it hard to wrap your head around it, especially when living in a region like the U.S. where being faced with the effects of HIV is not a daily reality for most people. For me, living in South Africa and working for a public health NGO, these numbers are no longer abstract. Being here, working for and with HIV+ people, has really put a face to the name of the epidemic, to speak in cliché terms.

There are more people living with HIV in South Africa than in any other country. Mbeki (South Africa’s former president, for those of you who don’t know) has a lot to be ashamed of. Once an instrumental freedom fighter with the ANC who helped end the apartheid era, he sadly turned into a mad man, denouncing that AIDS is caused by a virus. As a result of his ignorance, the epidemic has had an even more damaging effect on this country, and there’s a lot of catching up to do in terms of removing the stigma, making sure people are tested and knowledgeable of transmission, and providing ARVs to those in need. Despite holding very worrisome stances on HIV in the past (he once admitted to knowingly havnig sex with an HIV+ woman but said it was ok because he took a shower afterwards), Zuma (the current president) unveiled a very broad-reaching and positive policy on HIV/AIDS this week. He pledged to provide ARVs to many more South Africans and is also launching a big campaign for everyone to get tested. Though there are a lot of logistics to be worked out with this policy shift and its effectiveness obviously remains to be seen, it was still very inspiring to hear Zuma. Just having leadership in this country that TALKS about the epidemic is an incredibly important first step.

At the m2m office, all staff convened to commemorate World AIDS Day together. A few people from senior management spoke, and a few HIV+ women shared stories. One woman broke down crying as she was reading us a poem about being strong, which was very painful to witness. Although I cannot understand first hand what it means to live with HIV, over the past few months, I have gained so much insight into this epidemic, and I will never forget who I’ve met, what I’ve seen and learned, and how I feel. Though our office commemoration was sad, the ultimate message was that of hope – of what good people and good organizations can do. (And on that note, an m2m promotional plug: Without any intervention, mother to child transmission is roughly 30%; with the proper antiretrovirals and knowledge about breastfeeding, MTCT can be reduced to under 2%. mothers2mothers, started at one site in Cape Town in 2001, now reaches 300,000 HIV+ women per year by employing over 1500 HIV+ women to act as mentors across nearly 600 sites operating in 7 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.)

Of course it’s hard not to get emotional and dejected when you hear story after heartbreaking story about the effects of HIV/AIDS, but it really is so important not to assume a defeatist mindset. I will never forget the incredible women I’ve had a chance to meet and work with and I truly thank them for their inspiration. I hope the rest of the world doesn’t forget about them either.