We Must Never Forget and Never Relent in Our Fight Against AIDS

World Aids Day, December 1, 2008

World Aids Day is a day to bear witness, to celebrate the progress we have made and to re-dedicate ourselves to the fight by telling our own personal stories. When experiences are shared from every corner of the globe, we remind the world of the urgency to act, and we renew our faith in the belief that one day soon we will eradicate the AIDS pandemic.

I witnessed the first outbreak of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s in Africa. As a physician and psychiatrist in the U.S. State Department, I traveled across the African continent serving U.S. missions and working with local leaders. At the time, the AIDS virus was largely unknown and mysterious, and it spread with stunning and devastating ferocity from country to country, killing millions.

One couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness, but many of us resolved to fight this scourge from whatever vantage point we occupied. For me, that was the U.S. House of Representatives, which I entered in 1989. At the urging of then-Speaker Thomas S. Foley, I co-founded a congressional caucus on HIV/AIDS. It gave America a platform in which to educate and organize Congress against the threat.

Congressional colleagues representing every political viewpoint across America spoke with one passionate and determined voice to ensure that we would lead, not merely respond to this global crisis. And we have. Led by the United States, the world has gained ground against AIDS, inch by inch, but inextricably forward.

In 2003, an estimated 50,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatments to fight AIDS through various programs. Then, the U.S. launched PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, to urgently concentrate our efforts and it has been a tremendous success. Today in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1.7 million people are being treated, and we have provided care for almost seven million worldwide.

What's more, our commitment remains strong. A few months ago, Congress passed and the President signed into law a PEPFAR re-authorization bill that takes major steps forward. It includes provisions I co-authored to strengthen our efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and to significantly increase the number of infected children who will receive treatment. Every day, 1,000 children are born into world infected with AIDS, and we believe this new legislation will cut that number in half.

Still, many of us are concerned. We fear the global economic crisis will jeopardize the life-saving success. Last year, the World Bank warned that poverty is much greater than previously estimated: 1.4 billion people worldwide live on about a dollar a day. And this alarm was sounded largely before the current economic crisis had unfolded. We have to address global poverty as part of our commitment to eradicate AIDS.

Furthermore, we know that the developed world is enticing trained personnel to relocate to meet our medical needs, but this leaves fragile and vulnerable developing countries dramatically short of healthcare professionals. Unless we address this shortage globally, we will undermine on one hand the very health and humanitarian efforts we support on the other hand.

There is no easy solution to the AIDS crisis, but there is a path to hope and those who have walked it, as I have, know that awareness unites the world. That's why watching a PBS documentary like "We Will Not Die Like Dogs," by filmmaker Lisa Russell, is so important. It can be seen at: www.SnagFilms.com. Many do not realize the impact AIDS is having on women and children worldwide, but the film will open our eyes and that is a major step forward.

We all hope for the day when medical research discovers an AIDS vaccine and it will come. Until then, we must never forget that we honor those who have died by fighting for those who are alive and for those yet to be born. In the final analysis, the shield that can protect us is our humanity that unites us.

Comments

[BSERIUS]

Your second to last sentence "fighting for those who are alive and for those yet to be born" ..the 50 million dead unborn?... And also I have read the call for action yet don't see one call for the two best ways to PREVENT AIDS... 1) no promiscuous sex , use protection, monogamous relationships 2) Stop the drug use....

[klmebane]

healthcare providers are barred from speaking about birth control and other forms of protection through PEPFAR. abstinence is what they preach, just like in the U.S. we see how well that's worked out in our society, i wonder how it works in countries where many women can't tell their husbands no?

[daffey]

We teach abstinence? Oh yeah, that two day course my son was given in health class. Wow, if that doesn't prove abstinence doesn't work, I don't know what will. It's like throwing your kid into the ocean with a bag of cotton balls and expecting him to stay dry. At the end of the day, abstinence ed. doesn't work because we don't want it to work. After all, where would us adults be if our kids started acting more responsibly than we ever have?

And yes, BSERIUS is right. Discussing AIDS without discussing the behaviors that can make it more likely is like having World Lung Cancer Day and never discussing smoking.

[MCpiano]

What about the other serious diseases that threaten Americans? And AIDS is preventable.

[Morcat]

True, great progress has been made, but it isn't enough, nor will it ever be enough until there is a cure and a vaccine. HIV/AIDS has been allowed to be converted into a chronic condition, lulling us into apathy regarding the research that is needed. All too often, we have accepted the excuse that it is "too hard" to find a vaccine or cure, rather than pushing our government to increase support for the efforts. If there were as much enthusiasm for a cure and vaccine as there was for putting a person on the moon, so-called "star wars technology", not to mention the war in Iraq -- we would not be having this discussion today.

When the new administration takes office, we owe it to those who have died needlessly to exert whatever pressure is needed to increase the research effort and find a cure and to complete the prevention effort with a vaccine. To fail at that would speak volumes about our humanity.

[BlackYowe]

Best way to fight aids. Keep your zipper closed.

[klmebane]

consensual sex is not the only way aids is spread. a message of abstinence is not enough to fight aids in countries where rape is used as a form of warfare and many women are not permitted to abstain from sex with their husbands.

[mntleo2]

I am at this time raising a child who was HIV exposed at birth. She definitely "kept her zipper closed". A great deal of women in 3rd world countries are infected by their husbands infect who infect many women and the subsequent children as they are allowed polygamy, and are allowed to rape their wives, if they so choose. As a matter of fact rape within marriage in America is tolerated as well. Yes keeping one's "zipper closed" is part of it, but we need to address the larger issue of AIDS that is affecting many innocents who had nothing to do with its spread.

Representative McDermott, I am so proud of your work and I have voted for you over your career as a Representative. Please keep this message going! As one of the commenters here said, you really care and demonstrate that often.

Love,
Cat In Seattle

[tomas0808]

HuffPost's Pick

Nice post. I didn't know you had a blog here. That's cool. Good to know that you're still fighting the good fight. I should also take this opportunity to say thanks. A few years back, I was halfway thru my masters degree when Bush cut Stafford Loans for many students, no grandfathering, no nothing. I was at the end of my rope when I found your website and your speech opposing the educations cuts and decided to write you a letter. I didn't really think anything would happen (the last thirty years have made me a bit cynical regarding gov't) but your office called me within a week and by the next week a state disability agency called me offering to fund the rest of my degree. I was amazed. You might like to know that I finished my degree (in writing) found an agent and NY publishers are looking at my book as we speak. So here's a big thank you for all you do for the people.

[noralou]

Congressman McDermott: thank you for your continuing fight against disease and poverty. I grew up in your district and the first time I ever voted, I voted for you.
I am proud to come from the most liberal district in the state of Washington and glad that you are still fighting for "we, the people".
Keep it up, we need more people like you serving our country.