Today is World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day, an annual call (35th year) to remember and commit to educate, prevent, and treat people living with HIV disease. 

For me, 35 years ago there was already a heavy, deep, and mostly privately painful four-year-old tremendous fear of death by 25 due to the common pronouncement by hospitals (and on the news and in the bars, classrooms, etc.) as many of my peers were told "We can't help you. You've got AIDS. Go home and die." 

When I reflect today on that period of isolation and think about how far science, education, culture, and the multiple communities of which I'm a part have transformed (mostly) for the better, I am heartened and can imagine what another 35 years could bring.

Although there's still much more to accomplish, there's hope, prevention, medicine, and treatment that is advancing health for millions. Stigma reduction around HIV disease can be just as deadly and that's where more outreach, community building, and support can save even more lives and that's where hundreds of organizations in the USA - and more around the world - like Philadelphia FIGHT come into the picture. 

I made a contribution last week to support one of the earliest, possibly the first, organization to test out HIV vaccines in the 1990s (Philadelphia FIGHT). Today, they bring outstanding research, outreach, prevention, treatment, and medical care to those communities undoubtedly with the greatest need for assistance. 

They go where we need to go more and I'm grateful there are many nonprofits, universities, and community leaders making a difference every day. 

Michael Marsico - sorry we won't see you tonight at your fundraiser. The gift was made in honor of your longstanding dedication to the mission to fight HIV on the street, within the walls of research, and in the halls of government.