It's time to retire another worn-out dichotomy: the global v. domestic response to AIDS. We need a unified commitment and a detailed plan for fighting the epidemic at home and abroad.

President Bush issued no statements and announced no new plans to combat HIV/AIDS. The Obama camp is showing that public and political perception of the size, scale, and threat of the disease can change.

I am telling my story so that people know why today, more than ever, it is unquestionable that we need to re-invest in HIV/AIDS research.

When he assumes power, Barack Obama will take the reigns of the largest, sustained commitment of any nation to lifesaving HIV treatments for some of the world's most impoverished citizens.