Sheila C. Johnson: How Much Do You Know about HIV/AIDS?

In 1983, both Newsweek and TIME devoted

cover stories to a new, strange, and deadly

disease, with terrifying titles like

"Epidemic" and "The AIDS Hysteria." In

those awful days, nearly three decades ago,

it seemed like AIDS was everywhere--the

grimmest of reapers, waiting to strike,

without hope of prevention or cure.

Then, in 1984, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Luc

Montagnier co-discovered HIV as the cause

of the disease. And by the mid-1990s,

exciting progress was being made on anti-

retroviral therapies that kept the infection

at bay.

More than 20,000 delegates from around the

world have convened in Washington, D.C. to

attend the 2012 International AIDS

Conference--to celebrate progress, share

scientific discoveries, and seize the

potential to definitively "turn the tide" on

AIDS.

It's a thrilling moment -- and yet, it's a

moment of serious challenge as well: a

challenge to all of us to make sure we stay

aware, stay educated, and stay engaged, so

that we can sustain the momentum and

keep moving forward instead of back.

Did you know, for example, that in this

country, African Americans are the racial

group most affected by HIV? We make up

14% of the U.S. population, yet account for

44% of new HIV infections, with black men's

estimated rate of infection more than six

times that of white men, and black

women's estimated rate 15 times the rate

for white women. In Washington, D.C.,

which has epidemic rates of infection, black

women account for nine of every 10 women

with HIV. Nationwide, Hispanics and Latinos

are also disproportionately affected.

According to the CDC, at some point in life,

1 in 36 Latino men will be diagnosed with

HIV.

Did you know that while there are

estimated to be more than a million

Americans living with HIV/AIDS, as many as

one in five still aren't aware that they're

infected? Understanding your status is

critical to keeping yourself healthy, and to

keeping your loved ones safe. A

breakthrough study last year found that

people with HIV placed on antiretrovirals

early on in their infection were 96 percent

less likely to pass HIV on to their partners.

In other words, treatment is prevention; it

can not only save one life, it can save

many. Just a few weeks ago, the FDA

approved an at-home rapid HIV test,

OraQuick, making it possible to test in the

privacy of your home. And Walgreens, in

partnership with the CDC, is piloting a

program to offer free HIV screening in

selected pharmacies in Washington D.C.,

Chicago, and elsewhere. All it takes is a

mouth swab. You'll get your results in 20

minutes.

Did you know that while men who have sex

with men remain the most severely

affected population in the United States,

individuals infected through heterosexual

contact accounted for 27% of estimated

new HIV infections in 2009? Or that

injection drug users represented 9% of new

infections that same year? Programs that

provide clean needles to drug users are

some of the most effective ways to reduce

rates of HIV infection among intravenous

drug users, but conservative politicians

have insisted on making federal funding of

these programs illegal. This isn't just bad

policy -- it's deadly policy, and we need to

raise our voices against it.

Did you know there are more ways for

individuals and couples to protect

themselves? Female condoms are now

available for sale at pharmacies around the

country, giving women the option to

practice safe sex without relying on their

partners to use condoms. And just this

week, the FDA approved for prescription a

pill called Truvada, which is shown to be

effective in preventing HIV among those at

high risk of becoming infected.

Over the last 30 years, our understanding of

AIDS has improved dramatically, bringing us

to a point of unprecedented possibility and

hope. Now is the time to build on that

momentum, and end the epidemic for good.

That's what the International AIDS

Conference is about, but we all have a role

to play. In order to "turn the tide together,"

we all must take responsibility--for

ourselves, for our loved ones, and for our

future.