It
was truly a pleasure and an honor to attend
this year's United States Conference on AIDS!
It was quite bittersweet! On some good notes,
I felt like it was 'home week' as I knew so
many people there from ATAC and SAVE-ADAP, as
well as other colleagues and peers. It was quite
surreal to have met Dr. Gallo and Dr. Montagnier
and be able to thank them for their work! As
many of you may know, there was incredible controversy
over who actually discovered the virus that
can lead to AIDS. After a lengthy battle, they
agreed to be co-discoverers of the virus. However,
many feel the credit should have gone to Dr.
Montagnier. Regardless, it was an honor to meet
both of them. I attended many sessions and plenary
sessions and was greatly inspired to hear a
presentation by Phill Wilson, the Executive
Director of the Black AIDS Institute. Talk about
inspiring, charismatic and to the point...It
was indeed a pleasure to finally meet him. I
had an interesting breakfast with Frank Oldham
the new ED for NAPWA, Stephen Bailous from
NAPWA,
Michael Rajner from the Campaign to END AIDS
and Ingrid Kloet from the New Mexico POZ Coalition.
We discussed some of the politics on AIDS locally
in Broward County, Florida and elsewhere. There
is so much more work to do to bring our elected
officials up to par in this fight. I am happy
to say that in many states we have made great
strides in educating those who serve us. We
are fortunate to have the support of our law
makers here in Wisconsin, and I wish that were
the case everywhere. There was definitely an
underlying tone of frustration about our fight
against HIV/AIDS that resonated loud and clear.
Whether it is gay black men here in the USA,
the desperation in Africa, or empowering women,
there remains a lot of work to be done in this
fight. This is a disease of Humanity and we
must deal with it accordingly. Even with that
said, the infighting, ego, politics and power
ploys continue more than ever. The latter points
sadden me deeply but also have inspired me to
do more locally and nationally to create a strong
and united front. The session that ultimately
defined my sadness and frustrations was the
update on the reauthorization of the Ryan White
Care Act. Colleagues that I work with on SAVE-ADAP
issues; Ryan Clary from Project Inform, Carl
Schmidt from the AIDS Institute and Kathy Heirs
Executive Director of AIDS Alabama, among others,
sat on a panel to address the current issues.
As they discussed how the CARE ACT has grown
increasingly more complicated. Tension could
be felt in the room at times. As I write this,
the Ryan White Care Act remains unauthorized
and will not be voted on until after the November
elections. Lawmakers have made it even more
'political' and have pitted AIDS Service Organizations,
states and advocates against each other more
than ever before. I can only choose to continue
forward in the fight as a messenger of peace
in promoting awareness and action in these very
real issues. With Dr.'s Gallo and Montagnier
reiterating that a cure or workable vaccine
is a pipe dream, at best, I see no other solution.
Bob Bowers was nominated
and recognized as an Unsung Hero
in the fight against HIV/AIDS at the 2006
United States Conference on AIDS.
Da Pirate with fellow
ATAC Members L to R: Kristen, Rey, Nita and
Ingrid
Thank you gang for your hard work and dedication!
This marks my second
year as a member of the national coalition,
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC). I
am honored to not only be a member of ATAC and
the working group, SAVE-ADAP, but to be serving
on the ATAC Steering Committee (Board of Directors)
as well as the Steering Committee for SAVE-ADAP.
Thanks to all who have served in the
past and to our terrific members in all of our
working groups, past and present!
To learn more about this terrific organization
that works to improve quality of life for persons
living with HIV/AIDS, please visit:
www.atac-usa.org
With Michael Rajner-National
Secretary for The Campaign to END AIDS and AIDS
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