HIV/AIDS

Pierrette J Cazeau
MBA, MHA, CNPR, Post-Doctoral
Global Public Health Diplomat
Research Director

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen, Elected Council Members, and Mayor Masters.

It is an honor and privilege to be here this evening to bring to your attention the National HIV Testing Day which will take place on the 27th of June at the New Macedonia Baptist Church.Today marks thirty-four years since the CDC reported the first known case of AIDS. In the years since that time, people with HIV and their entire support community,including researchers, clinicians, allied health professionals, the government,non-profit organizations, plus activists have all created a shared history to rise above barriers and celebrate the advances in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. The human immuno deficiency virus(HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is growing world wide and devastating individuals, their communities as well as regions and entire countries.

Despite the many successes, there remains plenty of work still needing to be done to stop this epidemic that has claimed the lives of more than half a million persons in the United States and 2.5million worldwide. And now thirty-three years into the fight against AIDs, 33.3million people globally are currently living with HIV. We encourage everyone to find a location to be tested and know your status. Today there are many drugs that could help prolong life for those living with the virus. And also, the global health did their best to create a health insurance plan for infected individuals to be enrolled.
 
Each one of us knows either a friend, family member, or co-worker who has been affected by HIV. We encourage the public to embrace the stigmatism against heterosexual and homosexual communities in order to eradicate HIV by 2030.