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The Duke CFAR Commemorates
World AIDS Day
December 1st, 2022
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In this newsletter:
Why the Duke CFAR Rocks the Ribbon
Looking Back: The Early Days of HIV at Duke
World AIDS Day Events
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Why the Duke CFAR Rocks the Ribbon | |
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Each year on December 1st, we commemorate World AIDS Day, a day to “reflect on our worldwide response to HIV/AIDS while honoring the lives of those lost to AIDS-related illness. On this day, we also renew our commitment to supporting the wellbeing of those with HIV, as well as those at risk for infection.”
This year’s World AIDS Day themes call out the injustices of inequalities that perpetuate the HIV epidemic and emphasize the need to center equity in our efforts to address barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and access to care.
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The U.S. Government (USG) theme for World AIDS Day 2022— Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV— “emphasizes accountability and action... through an approach that centers on communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This year, we observe World AIDS Day in the context of two other infectious disease threats—COVID-19 and monkeypox—which have heavily impacted many of those same communities. These epidemics have further highlighted that our public health response to HIV will require us to address health disparities holistically.”
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The UNAIDS slogan for World AIDS Day 2022 is “Equalize” – a call to action. “It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS.” A new UNAIDS report, Dangerous Inequalities, highlights the urgent need to address inequalities that are the driving force behind rising new infections and continuing deaths due to HIV, naming in particular gender inequalities, economic vulnerability, disparate access to treatment, power dynamics, and harmful gender norms. The report calls out discrimination against, stigmatization, and criminalization of key populations as an enormous threat to lives and human rights. | |
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Physicians and researchers at Duke have been working to address the challenges presented by HIV from the very start of the epidemic, providing compassion and care in the face of stigma and revolutionizing treatment options for those living with HIV through the conduct of clinical trials. Over the years, the Duke Center for AIDS Research has brought together researchers from across Duke, demonstrating the importance of research across disciplines, strong partnerships, and acknowledgement of the structures of inequality that result in disproportionate impacts of HIV, particularly among Black and Latinx communities and sexual and gender minorities.
This World AIDS Day, we asked our CFAR members and others across Duke to share why they rock the ribbon for HIV awareness.
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Looking Back:
The Early Days of HIV at Duke
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Dr. John Bartlett, top left, Dr. Dani Bolognesi, top right, and Dr. Barton Haynes were in the front lines of the AIDS epidemic in its early days. Images courtesy of Duke Medical Center Library and Archives and the New York Historical Society. | |
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In recognition of World AIDS Day, a recent article introduced Duke team members who showed courage and compassion in the face of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, from welcoming patients to discovering groundbreaking treatment options:
Deep inside Duke Clinics, there’s a quiet office-lined corridor that looks like any number of others. It takes the right set of eyes to see how this space with red and pink floor tile is different.
Walking the hallway, Stuart Carr, research program leader for the Duke Department of Pediatrics’ Infectious Disease Division [and Duke CFAR Clinical Core], recalled what the area was like in the early 1990s when it was Duke’s Infectious Disease Clinic, the front lines of the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
This wall wasn’t here, Carr explained. Instead, this was the small lobby where patients sometimes gave fake names to protect their privacy. A scale stood over there, often recording the weights of patients on a steep decline. And Carr pointed to an office where longtime phlebotomist Barlett Humphries drew blood and chatted with patients who were met with reluctance from some caregivers elsewhere.“That was my favorite job,” said Carr, the clinic’s receptionist in the early 1990s, when HIV patients faced few options and high mortality rates. “It was like, ‘OK, we can’t cure you, we can’t make you healthy, but we can try to make it a lot easier for you to deal with what you’re dealing with.”
Read the full story.
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NIH World AIDS Day 2022 Virtual Event: Progress and Promise in HIV Research
Thursday, December 1st, 2022 | 1-2:30pm ET | NIH VideoCast
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To commemorate World AIDS Day 2022, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) will host the NIH World AIDS Day 2022 Virtual Event: Progress and Promise in HIV Research. The event will stream on NIH VideoCast on December 1, 2022, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Each year, World AIDS Day offers an opportunity to celebrate the significant progress made toward ending the HIV pandemic, address the challenges that remain, and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives to HIV-related illnesses. Tune in this year to hear remarks from representatives across the federal government:
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Co-Founder & Co-Chair, Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
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Harold Phillips, MRP, Director, Office of National AIDS Policy, Domestic Policy Council, Executive Office of the President
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Admiral Rachel L. Levine, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service and Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
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Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director, Office of AIDS Research, NIH
Opening remarks will be followed by a live panel discussion with a distinguished group of participants. You may submit questions for the panel by emailing OARinfo@nih.gov.
For additional details, please see the NIH OAR World AIDS Day event webpage.
Stream the event.
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"The Crisis in Our Own Backyard"
Thursday, December 1st, 2022 | 4-5pm ET | 4 N. Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Hear from affected people, researchers and intervention experts on how to achieve the White House Plan to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic by 2030. Speakers include three members of our newly formed Durham-Duke CFAR Collaborative Community Council: Eugenia Rogers, Rita McDaniel, and Jimmy Gibbs.
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Fast Track Cities Durham World AIDS Day 2022 Virtual Event: "That Was Then; This is Now"
Thursday, December 1st, 2022 | 6-7pm ET | Zoom
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Mark your calendars for Fast Track Cities Durham and Durham County Department of Public Health’s virtual World AIDS Day Event 2022.
Our local theme is “That Was Then; This Is Now” and this year’s global theme is “Putting Ourselves To The Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV” and it aligns beautifully with our local theme. We have a stellar lineup of presenters to commemorate this auspicious occasion.
This virtual event is free and open to the public.
Zoom information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89056333257?pwd=bXNUOUVJT2dvNFYyaDRaMzd1ZUdSZz09
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UNC CFAR World AIDS Day Symposium
Friday, December 2nd, 2022 | 9:15am-12:05pm ET | Zoom
| Register for the symposium. | | | | |
