National Transgender HIV Testing Day Coming Soon

One of the things that alarmed me as a newbie activist 20 years ago was hearing the results of transgender needs assessment surveys don in Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles that revealed that large contingents of the respondents surveyed were HIV positive.

Those alarming needs assessment results in the late 90's early 2000's woke people up to the reality that HIV had a transgender face and was another problem we needed to tackle.

National Transgender HIV Testing Day started in 2016 as an initiative of the CDC and the Center For Excellence in Transgender Health at UC San Francisco.

Transgender and gender variant communities had high HIV infection rates.   In many cases people didn't know their status, thus helping to spread the virus in our community and with others they came in contact with either by unprotected sex, sharing hormone shots or silicone pumping needles .

National Transgender HIV Testing Day (NTHTD) is a day set aside to recognize the importance of HIV testing and increasing awareness and focus on HIV prevention and treatment efforts among transgender and gender non-binary people.

HIV testing can be an effective prevention tool that actively engages trans people in supporting sexual health and wellness while empowering us to make informed health choices that will help improve our lives. HIV testing among trans populations also allows health care providers to identify those who are HIV positive and to begin treatment efforts sooner, leading to better health outcomes and reduced possibility of HIV transmission.

Many organizations that serve trans population will have local testing events, so there should be a local organization doing an NTHTD testing event near you.

So on April 18 do yourself a favor and get tested so you can know your status, and make some future informed healthcare decisions based on that.knowledge.

World AIDS Day 2016

Today is World AIDS Day, in which the world pauses to remember the people we have lost due to the HIV pandemic and celebrate the progress we are making as a global community toward eradicating it by 2030.

Here in the United States, it's taking on an added significance as we are facing dealing with an administration that is being staffed with science deniers and incompetent LGBTQ bigots.

This year's theme for World AIDS Day is 'Hands Up For HIV Prevention', and there will be events around to world to mark the occasion.    One of the World AIDS Day events is the annual one that is held at Legacy Health Center in Montrose. that I last attended two years ago.

I've lost two cousins and many friends and acquaintances to AIDS.   There are people that I love and care about inside and outside the trans community who are at this moment dealing with living with HIV.   It's one of the reason why I want to see a cure for HIV/AIDS in my lifetime.

Here's the statement from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe concerning World AIDS Day and the international progress being made against the pandemic.




I'm proud to note that Ashton Woods, Tiommi Luckett and Arianna Lint were named to this year's POZ 100 List     This year's list focused on the South, and the POZ 100 List shines a deserved spotlight on the fierce advocates who are fighting to eradicate HIV/AIDS in our community.

One of the national trans led initiatives to fight HIV infection and transmission in the trans community is one coordinated by the Transgender Law Center's Cecilia Chung called  Positively Trans 

One of the issues that we deal with in Trans World and have for some time is HIV   We do have some of our people and some of our amazing trans leaders who are dealing with living with HIV and as the 2012 death of Alexis Rivera pointed out, dying from it.u,

So yes, it is important trans peeps to know your status and get tested on a regular basis so that if you are HIV -, you stay that way and if you're HIV +, you can begin to get treatment for it.

Empowered: Trans Women And HIV Series

One of the things I have been keenly aware of since 2000 and reading the Washington Transgender Needs Assessment is that trans women are at the highest risk for HIV/AIDS.

The US Centers for Disease Control and prevention reports that one in four trans women, and nearly half of Black trans women, are living with HIV.  Globally, trans populations in various nations are 50 times more likely to have HIV compared to other populations

That's unacceptable, and in response  to these sobering statistics, Greater Than AIDS is launching a video series entitled: Empowered: Trans Women and AIDS, a video series discussing love, life and HIV among #TransEmpowered women

Thanks to Phoebe, Blossom, Bre, Victory, and Joanne for telling their stories and being part of this video series, and here's the promo video for it.




In order for us to get to the international goal of zero new HIV/AIDS cases, eradicating the virus in trans populations needs  to expeditiously happen and we will need funding and resources allocated to trans led HIV/AIDS organizations to do the job.

Removing trans women from the MSM stats and counting trans people in our own HIV/AIDS statistical category instead of lumping us in with gay men is necessary.  We need to know the extent of the actual number of HIV cases in our community, and it will help immensely toward gathering statistics in the future and removing stigma.    

There are also societal fixes that need to happen of passing trans non discrimination laws so that trans women aren't forced to resort to escorting to pay their bills and we get another step forward toward getting new HIV cases to zero...
     

Today Is National Trans HIV Testing Day

As part of my medical procedures when I restarted my HRT last year, one of the things I had to do was take test for not only Hepatitis B and C exposure, but HIV.  It was a relief to know that the results of those tests all came back negative.

I mention this because today is the inaugural National Trans HIV Testing Day.   Trans people in the US are unfortunately among one of the groups at highest risk for HIV infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trans women of color, and especially trans African-Americans and trans Latinas experience disproportionately high rates of HIV infections.

To add an exclamation point to the issue of trans HIV infections, the Transgender Law Center last month released the initial reports from their groundbreaking Positively Trans Survey with the support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation that focuses on the lives of trans Americans trans living with HIV/AIDS.

The CDC points out certain risk factors directly tied to transphobia and the marginalization that transgender people face that may contribute to the high transgender HIV infection rates.

Those risk factors include:  higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, sex work, incarceration, homelessness, attempted suicide, unemployment, lack of familial support, violence, stigma and discrimination, limited health care access, and negative health care encounters.

The National Trans HIV Testing Day was conceived in order to promote and recognize the importance of routine HIV testing, status awareness, and ongoing focus of HIV prevention and treatment efforts among transgender people.

It encourages participation by local community based organizations, health jurisdictions, and HIV prevention programs by hosting local trans community specific HIV testing events and forums.  They are also encouraging on this day the development of trans specific HIV campaign materials and resources to tackle the ongoing health crisis in our trans ranks.

Here's hoping that this inaugural National Trans HIV Testing Day is just the first step in a series of coordinated moves that will help us in Trans World get down to zero new infections in our ranks.

Living While Black And HIV Positive

Since this is World AIDS Day, this guest post by Ashton is even more timely and significant.

"HIV does not discriminate when it attacks its host; it is the system of privilege and socialized systems of belief that makes HIV insidious. When settings like this exist, and are conducive enough for people not to front-stage or hold back about their authentic experience, the truth about how they view the care they receive versus someone of a different race or gender can emerge.

Take me for example: I am a black man who happens to be out gay and atheist. I also happen to be HIV positive with very-little-to-no income. My socioeconomic status requires me to seek services like Ryan White and ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) in order to take care of my health. In general, health care is what comes to mind, and that is the furthest from the truth. I had an experience, where I went to ask for rental assistance under HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS) and got turned away, only to see my White counterparts get much better help in the process. This is not all due to White privilege, but that particular privilege plays a major role in how folks receive various services 

You can read the rest of Ashton's post by clicking this link.

World AIDS Day 2015

Today is the 28th annual observance of World AIDS Day in which organizations and individuals around the globe take the time to reflect on the devastating impact that the pandemic has had around the world.

The 2015 theme for World AIDS Day is The Time To Act Is Now, and it's a sentiment that I agree with having lost two family members and numerous friends to it as part of the 26 million people worldwide we have lost to AIDS related illnesses since 1980.

As we in the US trans community have been painfully aware of since 2000 and the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey has put an exclamation point on, the trans community has not been immune from feeling the effects of HIV/AIDS.

The NTDS survey revealed a 2.6% overall infection rate in the trans community, and it was significantly higher in trans communities of color. The African-American trans community rate was 25% of the NTDS respondents, 11% of Latinx trans people, 7% of Native American trans people, and 3.7% of Asian American trans people.

The recently completed Positively Trans (P+) survey should give us more updated stats and a clearer picture of the policy and legal landscape faced by trans people living with HIV/AIDS once it is compiled and the initial release of survey data happens.  

And as Charlie Sheen's announcement that he has HIV has pointed out, our level of societal education about HIV/AIDS issues is lacking and needs a serious upgrade if we are going to reach the goal of eradicating it in our lifetimes.

And that education definitely needs to be ratcheted up in communities of color.

There are several World AIDS Day observances taking place here in the Houston area.   There's a World AIDS Day gathering at the Hermann Park Conservancy starting at 7:30 PM and the candlelight observance starting at 6 PM at Legacy Health Services.

There is also a film screening happening at the Montrose Center entitled How To Survive A Plague that will also kick off at 7:30 PM

Last Day Of Positively Trans Survey

If you're an HIV + trans or gender variant person and haven't taken this groundbreaking survey yet, better get moving on it.

Today is the last day you can take the survey that it is hoped will provide a clearer picture of the needs of our trans and gender family living with HIV and AIDS and drive policy better calibrated to their needs.

The survey is available in English and Spanish, and once taken, you can also  get yourself entered in a drawing for the eight Visa gift cards that will be given away valued at $250, $100, or $50 dollars.

Without the needed data, you don't exist to government agencies, the government and funders, so if you haven't done so, please take a moment to click on this link and complete the survey.

Positively Trans Survey Home Stretch

If you are a trans or non gender conforming person who is HIV+ or know someone who is a trans or NGCP person who is HIV+ , please take a moment if you haven't done so already to either take the first ever Positively Trans Survey yourself or encourage that person to do so.

The survey is anonymous, available in English and Spanish, takes 20 minutes to complete and seeks to hear about the experiences of HIV+ NGCP and trans people with the health and legal systems in the US.
 

In addition to help getting a clearer picture of the HIV?AIDS landscape as it applies to trans and non gender conforming people, if you take the survey you can also enter a drawing for one of eight VISA gift cards ranging from $25 to $100 dollars.   .

You can click on this link to take the survey,

The things I hope happen as a result of this Positively Trans Survey is not only do we get a clearer picture and more solid info about HIV +  trans and non gender conforming people, it becomes the catalyst to help drive policy changes that will help our trans and NGCP HIV+ community community from the local to the federal level. .

But if you haven't taken the time to do so, please do so ASAP.

Positively Trans Survey Launched

Thanks to the Transgender Law Center, a groundbreaking survey was launched today that has the goal of assessing the needs of our trans community members living with HIV.

It is a first-of-its-kind community-led needs assessment to examine the legal and policy landscape as experienced by transgender women, men, and gender non-conforming people living with HIV/AIDS across the country. The survey is open for responses in English and in Spanish.

“As transgender people living with HIV/AIDS, we are capable of forming our own network, telling our own stories, and developing our own strategies for advocacy,” said Cecilia Chung, Senior Strategist at Transgender Law Center and project lead for Positively Trans. “This survey is a groundbreaking opportunity to not only highlight our needs, but also our resilience when there are few resources available. We are ready to offer policy makers, providers and legislators our own solutions.”

The survey was developed in partnership with the project’s nine National Advisory Board members from across the country — Arianna Lint, Channing-Celeste Wayne, Dee Dee Chamblee, Milan Sherry, Octavia Lewis, Ruby Corado, Tela Love, Teo Drake, and Tommi J. Luckett — the majority of whom are trans women of color living with HIV.

“This survey is for us and will not be done without us,” said T+ National Advisory Board member Tiommi P. Luckett of Arkansas. “Every trans woman and man living with HIV should fill out this survey because we need people to know that we’re here, and that we can develop our own solutions and strategies to take care of ourselves.”

So if you are a trans person living with HIV, this survey is for you.   Please take a moment to fill it out and let your voice be heard.   We advocates and allies need to have solid data and statistics on trans people living with HIV that we can take to federal, state and local governmental officials, provider organizations and policy makers to help make a reality the solutions and strategies you come up with.

Here's the Positively Trans survey link, available in English and Spanish.   


TransGriot Update: Participants in the Positively Trans Survey have an opportunity to enter a drawing in which 8 people will receive a Visa Gift card worth either $250, $100, or $50.

World AIDS Day 2014 Houston Memorial

I got a chance to spend some quality time with the Gallery Girls, AKA Nikki Araguz Loyd and Meagan Gillett on Monday afternoon and evening.

One of the things that we did besides having a girls afternoon out was also take time to head to Legacy for their World AIDS Day Observance that started at 5 PM.

I was there not only to commemorate the day, but remembers my friends and family members that we have lost since 1981 to AIDS
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It was hosted by former KHOU-TV anchor Lisa Foronda at Legacy's California St. clinic. Since the weather was a little chilly for H-town, the ceremony was moved to the facility's garage.

State Rep and Houston mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner was in attendance along with Houston city councilmembers Ed Gonzales and Ellen Cohen and representatives from Rep Sheila Jackson Lee's and State senator Rodney Ellis' office.

Proclamations were read commemorating the day read from our city council, state and federal legislators along with the names of many of the people we have lost. 

There were also people from the medical community discussing the progress that we have made toward getting to the goal of zero new HIV/AIDS infections and urging people to get tested.

After a song from Pride Superstar Daniel Rosales, a community candlelight walk commenced to circle the Montrose block the Legacy Clinic occupies before it concluded.

World AIDS Day 2014

Today is World AIDS Day 2014 in which we remember all the people we have lost due to the epidemic worldwide and take stock of where we are internationally in terms of eradicating it.

While there has been progress over the last thirty years in terms of combating the virus, we still have a long way to go in order to achieve the goal of an AIDS free generation.

The transgender community is one of the groups affected by HIV/AIDS as the 2000 Washington Transgender Needs Assessment first alarmingly brought to our attention.

One of the issues that Trans HIV/AIDS activists and our allies are trying to get rectified is for the CDC and senior level policy makers to separate trans people from the MSM (men having sex with men) statistics so that we can be more accurately tracked and so that funding can be directed at trans populations instead of having our people inflating the MSM numbers so that gay orgs doing the work to fight HIV/AIDS in our community get funding and we don't .

It also causes problems in collecting statistics when you refer to a trans feminine woman in a survey as a 'man having sex with a man'.   That needs to change ASAP. 

I've lost relatives and friends to AIDS, and I like everyone else, including the people infected with HIV and the researchers and doctors working to find a way to cure it, would love to see the goal of an AIDS free generation become a reality.

World AIDS Day 2013

Today is the 25th annual observance of World AIDS Day.   It started back in 1988 as the first ever global health day that serves several purposes.   It organizes people to help fight and do education about HIV/AIDS, allows us show support for those persons living with HIV and acts as a memorial day for the 25 million people around the world who have succumbed to it between 1981 and 1997.

333 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with HIV. 

I have two cousins who are part of the 25 million people worldwide who have succumbed to AIDS.  I've had at least 10 classmates from elementary through high school that are sadly among that group of people we have lost to AIDS that I think about on this day.

Also in that group are transfeminine people, as the untimely death of activist Alexis Rivera last year pointed out.  A depressingly long list of transgender needs assessments going back to 2000 also revealed alarming HIV infection rates in Washington DC and several other cities of up to 20% of the respondents taking them. 

I'm also aware of trans women who are living with HIV and are surviving, thriving in their personal and professional lives and contributing their talents toward making our society better along with other people who are HIV+..

But just as I had a front row seat in 1981 for the dawn of the age of HIV/AIDS, I'd like to see a cure expeditiously happen for it as well.  
   

The theme of this year's 25th anniversary observance of World AIDS Day is “Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation.  There will be a candlelight observance ceremony starting at 5:30 PM at Tranquility Park in downtown Houston, which will be one of the many World AIDS Day themed events world wide.

The goal is to get new HIV/AIDS infection rates and deaths down to ZERO..  It's a lofty goal that has a multipronged approach to it in terms of educating people about the disease, promoting safe sexual practices and urging people to get tested.

But the sooner it happens around the world, the better.

Titica Named UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador

I've talked about award winning girl like us Titica, who is a rising music star in her native Angola.   She has performed for Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and garnered quite a following in the world of kuduro, the indigenous music that mixes techno and rap.

Her 2012 Kora nomination in the best female artist in southern Africa category is a testament to her fame spreading beyond the borders of her heavily Catholic nation and its reach into other parts of southern Africa.

It's why UNAIDS recently tapped her to become its official Goodwill Ambassador for Angola.  

Titica follows former Miss Universe Leila Lopes and Angolan national women's basketball team star Nacissela Mauricio in being the faces for the UNAIDS sponsored HIV-AIDS prevention campaigns urging people to get tested and wear condoms.  

Because Angola was embroiled in conflict form 1975 until 2002 with a few interludes, its borders were relatively closed to its Southern African neighbors.  One of the interesting side effects of that war induced isolation is one of lowest prevalence rates of HIV-AIDS infections on the African continent at 2.1-3.4% in contrast to its neighbors Namibia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that have some of the highest rates.

But because Angola has increasingly opened its borders to those neighboring countries, that prevalence rate is starting to rise along with the new AIDS infection rates and deaths from the disease.  Angola is one of the few African nations in which HIV-AIDS infections and deaths have risen in the last ten years, which is why UNAIDS has been working with popular Angolan cultural figures to get their message out and change that.

UNAIDS is also concerned the Angolan government head in the sand denial they have SGL people in their country having sexual relations with each other and their numbers are rising is only exacerbating the problem. 

They are also trying to reach Angolan youth with their prevention message along with the trans and SGL community in Angola, and Titica is well positioned and eager to do her part to reach those groups.

She said when speaking about her new appointment as the UNAIDS goodwill ambassador, "I myself have suffered much humiliation. I have been beaten and picked on for who I am.  But I am ready to lead by example to fight against stigma and discrimination in my country and beyond." 

UNAIDS hopes that Titica is the person they need in Angola to break down barriers, erase stigma and help them slow down and reduce the numbers of HIV-AIDS cases there. 
  

Still Miss You, Tracy

June 28 will mark the second anniversary since those of us who know Tracy Bumphus were stunned to hear the news about her untimely passing.

She's hanging out with the angels now, but that still doesn't keep those of us who knew and loved her from missing her and thinking about the ways she touched our lives be it in a small or quite significant way.

I not only stumbled across this guest post in my TransGriot archives that she'd written and I posted when the TS ubermenschen separatists were running wild back in 2010, had declared me as their number two enemy (a fact I'm still chuckling about to this day) and tred to drag her name into their mess. 

Another reason Tracy is on my mind besides the upcoming anniversary of her death is because I was sent a link to a HIV/AIDS testing video that she'd done in her capacity as a program assistant at the AIDS Project of East Bay

Even though it's two years old the message is still relevant and needs to be heard.  Even better, we get to see Tracy in action doing what she always did, educating people

And yeah, this is also a reminder for you TransGriot readers to take a moment to tell the people that you love and care about in your life how much you love and care about them.  Once you or they have left this plane of existence, it's too late to do so.

Today Is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2013

Today is the 13th annual National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.  As someone who has lost two extended family members and many dear friends to the disease, I'm keenly aware of the toll HIV/AIDS had taken on this community.

It was started by the Centers for Disease Control and other grassroots  organizations in 2000 and launched as part of a widespread effort to curb the rate of HIV infection amongst black men and women through “education, testing, involvement, and treatment.”

There are more than one million new cases of HIV infections in the U.S. every year, and nearly half of them are African American men, women, and children. Black men are nearly eight times more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS than white males, while black females are 20 times more likely to be diagnosed than white females.

And sadly, embedded in those statistics are Black trans people.  The Injustice At Every Turn report revealed that 20% of the 381 African American trans respondents to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey  reported being HIV+ and an additional 10% reporting they did not know their status.   There are some major advances that have been made in the fight to defeat HIV/AIDS, and health officials around the world are optimsitic that it can be defeated.

HIV+ infected people are living longer due to netter treatment regimens, more testing despite political interference that catches the disease earlier, and just last month a Spanish research team announced a major medical breakthrough that could lead one day to an effective vaccine against the HIV virus.

But until that glorious day happens and there's a cure for AIDS,  we need to do a much better job of getting our people informed about HIV, getting them tested and making sure people know their status.  It's the only way at the present time we are going to reduce infection rates and eventually eradicate it.

World AIDS Day 2012

Today is World AIDS Day.   It is observed every December 1 and seeks to bring together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, remember those who perished from it, demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic and celebrate international progress toward treating and eradicating it.

World AIDS Day was first conceived in August 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS (now UNAIDS) at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.   Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr. Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS, who liked it and agreed with their recommendation that it be held on December 1.

Bunn and Netter selected December 1, 1988 as the date for the first observance of World AIDS Day because they felt selecting that date after the 1988 US presidential election and before Christmas would be in a news 'dead spot' that would guarantee maximum news coverage by western international news media outlets.
        
The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world.

Between 2011-2015, World AIDS Days will have the theme of "Getting To Zero: Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination. Zero AIDS Related Deaths".

The World AIDS Campaign focus on "Zero AIDS related deaths" signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all; a call for governments to act now. It is a call to honor promises like the 2001 Abuja Declaration and for African governments to at least hit targets for domestic spending on health and HIV.

HIV/AIDS is also an issue concern for the US and international trans community.   Many of our sisters contracted it either by sharing infected needles as they had silicone pumping done to rapidly feminize their looks, drug use or through unprotected sex.  

The highest rates of new HIV infections according to the CDC are amongst African-American and Latina trans persons as the untimely death in March of Los Angeles area trans activist Alexis Rivera from AIDS complications sadly pointed out.

So not only let us remember our people we have lost to AIDS, let's not forget the people in our community who struggle to live day by day with HIV/AIDS. 

Let's also strive to do what we can as a community to get to zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination of persons with HIV/AIDS and zero AIDS related deaths.    
 

World AIDS Day 2011

Today is World AIDS Day.    This  December 1 one is significant not only because we take time to focus attention on the people who lost their battle with HIV/AIDS and the persons living with it, it's been 30 years since it exploded into our national consciousness here in the US with reports of a mysterious ailment called GRID that popped up in three clusters in San Francisco, New York and Houston.  

In the Obama Administration there is an Office of National AIDS Policy headed by Jeffrey Crowley
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In addition to it being a fast growing problem in the African American community, it's also an issue in the POC trans community as well.   One of the projects I was involved with in Louisville was an organization that was tasked with helping to fight the spread of the disease in the trans population.

It has long been an irritant to the trans community that when HIV/AIDS stats are compiled transpeople are lumped into the MSM (men having sex with men) category.   It's problematic in the fact that it hinders our ability to collect accurate statistics in terms of just how many transpeople are infected and erases a transwoman's identity at the same time.

I expressed these same points in this post when Jeffery Crowley briefed us during the recent Out on the Hill Conference I attended.  I along with every transperson in the room got tired of hearing him refer to 'gay and lesbian' in every other sentence.   When it was time to ask Crowley questions, I asked him when would statistics be collected to more accurately reflect the fact that transpeople are being infected at alarming rates with HIV/AIDS instead of just lumping them in the MSM category?  I also asked if there had been senior policy level discussions to implement that change.

His answer didn't satisfy me or many of the people in that room and triggered a discussion led by Louis Mitchell, Kylar Broadus, and Valerie Spencer and our GLB allies who do HIV/AIDS prevention work.  They pointed out the problems with lumping transpeople in the MSM category.
 
But back to World AIDS Day.   Do what you need to do to stay negative.  Get tested, and if you are getting busy, safe sex please. 

A Cure For HIV/AIDS?

The pandemic that has killed over 25 million people and another 33 million live with that includes members of the trans community in the HIV virus, if trials performed in Berlin hold up under upcoming scientific scrutiny, may finally have found a cure for it..

In the wake on another World AIDS Day observance, it was nice to read the article that suggests that a cure for the disease may have been found using stem cell transplants.

According to the Huff Po article, Timothy Ray Brown, AKA the 'Berlin Patient' underwent a 2007 stem cell transplant as part of a long treatment regimen to combat leukemia     His doctors published a report in the medical journal Blood that suggests Brown has no trace of the HIV virus after extensive testing and a cure for the virus may have been achieved.  

While much testing remains to be done and the research continues in nations around the globe to fund that elusive cure, it nevertheless is wonderful news and a beacon of hope for people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

And it makes it even more important that we get universal health care in this country.