What Children Can Teach Us About HIV

Last week on World AIDS Day -- amid talk about an historic opportunity to create an AIDS-free generation -- we were reminded that the stigma and ignorance surrounding this disease is not necessarily a thing of the past.

The news that a 13-year-old-boy -- called "Abraham Smith" to protect his identity -- has been banned from attending a school in Pennsylvania because he is HIV-positive brought back a flood of memories from an earlier and darker time in the history of the AIDS pandemic.

It was twenty-six years ago that a 13-year-old Ryan White was also denied attendance at his middle school in Indiana.

In those days, while the medical community had already concluded that the risk of transmission through casual contact was almost non-existent, a lack of public awareness about the disease led to discrimination against those living with the virus.

Children with HIV were also a rarity, and suffered from inadequate treatment -- both medically and ethically.

Today, the medical community is even more confident about how HIV is and is not spread. We also know how to prevent virtually all new infections in children, and treat those who are already living with the virus. HIV-positive kids now have access to safe and effective medicines that give them a chance to grow up and lead full, healthy lives.

If those medicines had been available earlier, Ryan White might have lived to celebrate his 40th birthday on December 6th. The image of him as a brave child advocate is so emblazoned in our collective memories, that it's hard to picture him as an adult.

We've come a long way fighting pediatric AIDS since then. Thanks to years of research and advocacy on pediatric drug development, we now have a whole generation of children with HIV who are thriving. As they enter adolescence and adulthood, there are still a host of unresolved social and medical issues that need to be addressed.

Incidents of discrimination like the kind Ryan White experienced should be a thing of the past. But stories like Abraham's, and that of young Caleb Glover from Alabama -- who just a few years ago was banned from a community pool because he had HIV -- are proof that we still have a long way to go.

This most recent case in Pennsylvania should raise red flags for all of us that there is still much work left to do to combat stigma and discrimination, and deal with the unmet needs of children with HIV.

If Ryan, Caleb, Abraham, and others have taught us anything in the past thirty years of AIDS, it's that we can and should do better for our children living with HIV.

Watch below to see a thirty-year history of HIV and children, and how to finish the job of creating an AIDS-free generation.

 

Follow Charles Lyons on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@EGPAF

Comments

[truthmarathons]

01:39 PM on 12/07/2011

Thank you, Mr. Lyons, for this thought-provoking article. It is truly sad that after more than two decades, there is still a stigma attached to children with pediatric AIDS. "Abraham Smith" like Ryan White, is being alienated from living a normal life, despite the medical advances in curing this disease. There are school officials and others who ignorantly refuse to understand how AIDS is transmitted. Ryan White was a brave advocate for this enlightenment and cure, but lost his fight in April, 1990. Michael Jackson was a prolific humanitarian who embraced this cause. At President Clinton's Inauguration Celebration in 1993, Jackson asked the new President to support efforts for awareness and research into AIDS. He then sang the song he wrote for Ryan, "Gone Too Soon", followed by his iconic "Heal the World". Jackson used his talent, celebrity and financial position to bring awareness and understanding about the plight of children like "Abraham" and Ryan. Thank you, Mr. Ryan, for emphasizing the need to continue the conversation. Although there have been medical strides in the treatment and prevention of AIDS, more is needed to combat the ignorance and apathy associated with the transmission of AIDS.

[truthmarathons]

11:36 AM on 12/07/2011

Thank you, Mr. Lyons, for a very thought-provoking article about the stigma still surrounding discussion of and medical advancement in the treatment of AIDS. Although the medical community has concluded there is no risk of transmission to students or faculty, school officials and the public continue to alienate and discriminate against an innocent child whose only crime is that he has a disease. Ryan White was a very brave child advocate 26 years ago, and Michael Jackson championed his cause. As one of the world's most prolific humanitarians, Jackson devoted money, celebrity and compassion to promote the finding a cure for pediatric AIDS. When Jackson sang at President Clinton's Inaugural Celebration in 1993, he told Ryan's story and asked the new President to join him in the fight for a cure. Ryan White lost his fight on April 8, 1990. Jackson wanted the world to remember Ryan and his courageous attempt to bring awareness throughout the world. He wrote "Gone Too Soon" for Ryan. The medical community has made advances and continues to make advancements every day, yet innocent children are shunned by others who lack true knowledge of this disease. Thank you, Mr. Lyons, for reminding us that this is a subject that must be discussed everywhere. Perhaps then, children will be able to lead the normal lives that medical advancements have provided for them, but ignorance at this time denies them.

[see-ellen2001]

06:39 AM on 12/07/2011

Is that legal? To ban this kid from school?