Monday, December 1, 1997
Plague of the world
DISEASE: World AIDS Day marks increasing awareness, progress
toward a cure
By Rachel Munoz
Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 26 starts the season with Thanksgiving. Then Christmas
comes on Dec. 25. Finally, Jan. 1 welcomes the New Year to wrap up
the festivities. In the midst of this celebratory season, shadowed
by more recognized holidays, one day stands apart to commemorate
something unrelated to turkey or gift-giving: AIDS.
Across the globe, Dec. 1 marks World AIDS Day, born nine years
ago when a summit of health ministers from around the world called
for a spirit of social tolerance and a greater exchange of
information on HIV and AIDS.
"The day is really important in focusing world attention on the
epidemic," said Brad Sears, an AIDS patient and founder of the HIV
Legal Check-Up Project, designed to provide legal services to
people diagnosed with HIV or AIDS.
"In the past, (World AIDS Day) has been a time of remembrance
… of people who have died," Sears said. But this year, he feels
that the day seems to be regarded a little more optimistically,
perhaps due to its theme: "Give Children Hope in a World with
AIDS."
Although the theme is designed to challenge people to remember
that AIDS affects everyone, including children, it also
incorporates a message of hope. The idea: that children are not
helpless in a world with AIDS, as they are humankind’s most
precious resource for change.
"In 1996 alone, 400,000 children under the age of 15 became
infected with HIV," said President Clinton in an August statement
regarding World AIDS Day. "As the disease infects our children, it
strikes at the future of our nation and our world."
In view of the worldwide situation, the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the international sponsor of World
AIDS Day, carries the goal of "providing assistance to countries
and ensuring international best practice." In addition, UNAIDS
"supports research and continues work with existing programs to
lead a more powerful international response for HIV/AIDS."
Overall, the aim of this year’s World AIDS Day is for "increased
understanding of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its
global dimensions," according to the American Association for World
Health. This includes "an emphasis on promoting action and sound
policies to prevent HIV transmission and to minimize the epidemic’s
impact on children, their families and their communities."
"If I could focus people’s attention on one thing this year,"
Sears said, "it would be that this is a time of optimism, but also
a time to remember how much farther we have to go."
Clinton echoes those same thoughts .
"We have come a long way in our struggle to overcome this
epidemic, but we still have a tough road ahead. New treatments and
heightened awareness contributed a 19 percent decline in AIDS
deaths last year," he said. "However, the battle is not over."
Sears couldn’t agree more but insists that making a speech on
World AIDS Day just isn’t enough. There are still a lot of
political barriers to be torn down in advancing a cure for
HIV/AIDS. Sears believes that political leaders often talk about
how they would like to find a cure but rarely stand behind
university research that shows progress.
Even with a vaccine, Sears still feels that complications will
persist.
"Medically when there is a cure, the social and political
fallout of the disease will last for years," he said. He feels the
greatest challenge will be to provide minorities and
underprivileged people with access to the services.
While the United States worries about finding a cure for
HIV/AIDS, it appears that the battle on the disease is only just
beginning for the rest of the world. With 21 million infected with
HIV and six million diagnosed with AIDS, this disease is a
worldwide problem that might not concern U.S. citizens when things
are going so well here at home.
A new drug therapy known as the "cocktail combination," has been
part of why things are going so well in the United States, slowing
down the epidemic for many. Unfortunately, these new drugs are not
available to the rest of the world while the spread of HIV and AIDS
is on the rise.
"It’s an optimistic time in America because there are drugs to
slow down HIV and AIDS," said Professor Roger Bohman, who teaches a
biology class on AIDS. But unlike the epidemic problem spreading
throughout the world, optimism is not.
A lot of testing for new drugs takes place in underdeveloped
countries, Bohman said, and if the testing proves that a drug could
work, then that drug is brought back to the United States.
In addition, he feels that there is a moral problem with these
test policies. These policies essentially use citizens of
underdeveloped countries as guinea pigs for the drugs, he said, but
do not make those drugs available to them – or the rest of the
world – for that matter.
But another issue bothers him as well: the fact that any regard
for World AIDS Day by UCLA students seems to be dissolving.
"The history of World AIDS Day … on campus … is diminishing.
There used to be a whole series of events. It’s apathy," he said.
He commented that so far this year no one has mentioned World AIDS
Day to him.
To prove his point, he randomly asked about 10 people in the
room if they knew when World AIDS Day was recognized and not a
single person could answer.
"It’s almost unbelievable that people are unaware of the AIDS
problem," Bohman continued. "But there is so much information put
out on AIDS that we ignore it."
Bohman compares the situation to walking into a noisy room:
after a while the noise gets ignored and tuned out.
Although Bohman regards Dec. 1 as "a symbolic day," he likens it
to a holiday such as Veterans Day. We observe it, but its true
content might not necessarily be considered.
On a more optimistic note, Sears feels that Dec. 1 should
reflect the progress made with the disease.
"This is the beginning of the end of the epidemic," he said. He
feels that first steps have been taken to the progress of finding a
cure.
So, will future Worlds AIDS Days bring more remembrance with
candlelight vigils or mark our progress in controlling HIV and
AIDS?
"I would like to see it (World AIDS Day) go away," Sears said.
We will truly have something to commemorate when HIV/AIDS is no
longer a problem, he believes.
GALA, the Student Welfare Commission and the University
Religious Center are sponsoring a non-denominational memorial
service at the Sculpture Garden today from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.