June 15, 2021
On June 11, Chris Collins, President & CEO of Friends of the Global Fight, and Reverend Robert Newells, Director at the Black AIDS Institute, appeared on PBS Newshour to discuss the domestic and international progress made in the fight against AIDS and the challenges that lay ahead in the Global Fund’s mission to eradicate the virus.
Forty years after HIV was first discovered, we are closer than ever in our mission to end the AIDS epidemic. Chris Collins outlines a plan, declaring, “It is not easy to bring down HIV infection & mortality rates, but we do know what to do. It’s not rocket science. It’s going to take political commitment and investment.”
Key Takeaways:
- 40 years ago, the CDC reported the discovery of HIV in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report— this was the first time the US government acknowledged the virus
- Since 1981, significant progress has been made, but the incidence of the disease has shifted to harder to reach populations that require greater investment
- Though tens of millions of people are currently receiving HIV treatment, 10 million HIV positive people continue to live without life-saving treatment around the world
- HIV infections are climbing in marginalized groups and we need to fight against stigma in order to end the AIDS epidemic
Read more about this interview at PBS Newshour.