EDGE New York City

So whither to next?

The CDC has argued for new programs, including increased access to voluntary HIV testing as part of routine medical care, community programs targeted to the poor and minority populations, increased focus on substance abuse as one of the primary catalysts of infection, and new diligence on reporting.

"We need to identify what measurable outcomes we’re looking for," Haag suggests, "and then design a strategy for getting there. We also need to articulate what we’re doing - without the ability to tell people how their contributions make a difference, we see reductions in both private and public funding."

To many, the possibility of eradication through treatment and/or vaccination provides glimmering hope for a future without AIDS. Goldman, who has watched the disease progress for fifteen years, believes that outcome to be far in the future, if possible at all.

"I don’t think we’re going to eradicate it," she says bluntly. "There doesn’t look to be any hope of that. Scientifically, the virus is too smart. We hoped for that at the beginning, but not now."

Haight and others living with HIV, however, still hope for the best despite their growing concerns regarding the disease’s slow resurgence.

"People have stopped dying and being very sick, so it’s harder and harder to fight this," he laments. "How do you tell people to have safe sex when they’re no longer dying from it? It’s a long, hard battle in front of us."

"The one thing I would hope," offers Curren, "is that we take a new look at HIV and become activists again. Push hard. Act like the AIDS epidemic is in danger of threatening the world as we see it."

To Goldman, a productive future begins with respect for AIDS itself - not only as it exists today, but the path is has carved in our recent history.

"We haven’t learned," she insists. "People don’t think of this as a life-threatening disease. Go to Botswana - there are no problems with adherence in Botswana. If they can get the pill, they’re going to take it. Here, people no longer remember the death and dying part.

"A decade ago this was a plague that was killing an entire generation of gay people. The treatments are miraculous for sure - but we need to remember, and respect this disease."

Haag feels a more encompassing private burden. When asked why she has dedicated her professional life to the disease in an age where its immediate relevance is dwindling, she pauses, then summarizes.

"I think it’s on my generation to give back," she says thoughtfully. "I feel like I’m blessed; my family is healthy, I’ve been happily married to the woman I love for the last fifteen years. I feel just a bit lucky. And I feel an obligation to society to make a difference, and there’s something about HIV and AIDS that feels very connected to my generation. I feel like I lost friends and peers, and I don’t want the next generation to have to deal with this. I feel like it’s our job to put an end to it."

Within the unique perspectives of the diverse voices speaking forth in the fight against AIDS this one message clearly emerges: it’s in our power to make sure we are not still fighting twenty-five years from now.

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On the web

The Body :: http://www.thebody.com

AIDS Action Committee :: http://www.aac.org