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AIDS around the world: CONFRONTING AIDS

  • where about 1 in 20 residents is infectedA RED RIBBON ­ symbol of the fight against AIDS ­ is tattooed on José Ramirez's neck and posted prominently on the bulletin board in his office. {quote}It's me; it's who I am,{quote} says Ramirez, 26, coordinator of the Youth Mpowerment programs at D.C.'s Clinica del Pueblo. {quote}It opens up conversations.{quote}Ramirez, who educates young gay and bisexual Latino men about AIDS prevention, is working to slow the increase in cases. A recent Kaiser FamilyFoundation survey found that Hispanics in the District have the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country, about 110 per 100,000 people. {quote}It really does change your life,{quote} says Ramirez who learned of his HIV-positive status as a 17-year-old high school student in Durham, N.C. {quote}I haven't cried about it, yet. I want to be strong about it. I think that's what helps me.{quote}ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©2008 Nikki Kahn
  • where more than 90 percent of women with the disease are blackAccording to the D.C. Department of Health, women accounted for a third of all newly reported HIV/AIDS cases between 2001 and 2006, with African­American women being disproportionately affected. Most of those women were of child-bearing age, putting their children at risk. The number of women in the District living with AIDS increased by more than 75 percent in that six-year period. The most common form of transmission for women was heterosexual contact. In the 14 years since she learned she was HIV-positive, Juanita Brown Sims has turned to her faith for support. Sims, 42, shares her poem, {quote}Don't Look at My HIV, You Won't See Me{quote} in the hope of giving support to others who have the virus. What are you looking at Are you looking at my HIV If you is you can't see me. I'm strong, I'm gifted, I'm lovable but most of all I'm free Don't look at my HIV you won't see me. I'm funny, I’'m smart, I'm a mother of three, I am wise and I dress to a tee. So don't look at my HIV you won't see me. I’'m a child of God I don't have to steal, borrow, beg or rob. How funny you say you love me When you always worrying about my HIV. HIV lives with me but it’s not all of me, you see. I am blessed by the God that lives within me He helps me to do my best So you could put your mind at rest, And look at me Not my HIV. Yes I messed up my life But I ain't going down without a fight, I can now sing and dance Because I'm giving my life a second chance. I'm somebody who's willing, ready, able and understanding And I don't mind living out my HIV on this planet So if you keep looking at my HIV You going to be so sorry you missed the God in me. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©2008 Nikki Kahn
  • where a patient may take between one and 30 pills a day Michael Manganiello, 50, prepares his evening routine in the warm glow of his fifth-floor Logan Circle apartment. He's been through it once already: one, two, three . . . the pop of a bottle, then the rattle of pills, as he counts them out . . . 11, 12, 13. He ponders the number: {quote}Thirteen — unlucky,{quote} he murmurs. Between morning and evening, he takes a total of 27 pills these days. Manganiello grasps a handful, puts them into his mouth, takes a swig of water and swallows. He pauses for a moment, then repeats the ritual with the remaining tablets. {quote}I found out I was positive in 1987. It's been 21 years. Long time,{quote} he says. Back in the ’'80s, he remembers, {quote}you got diagnosed and six months later you were dead.{quote} Even then, Manganiello's diagnosis seemed more optimistic than most. Eighteen months was his doctor's best guess. In the ’90s his viral load levels soared, indicating the virus was progressing quickly. {quote}I was a viral millionaire,{quote} he quips. A partner in the health-care consulting firm HCM Strategists, Manganiello considers himself lucky to be among the few hundred patients taking part in a National Institutes of Health clinical trial investigating interleukin-2, a drug that booststhe immune system when it is under attack by HIV. {quote}The bad thing is that there is this perception that it's a chronic manageable illness and it's not so bad if you get it. That's not the case,{quote} Manganiello says. {quote}In some ways it's still a death sentence. It's an incurable disease that's progressive.{quote}ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©2008 Nikki Kahn
  • where intravenous drug use is the second-leading cause of transmissionBrought together by chance 22 years ago in the cellblocks of the Lorton Correctional Complex, Ron Daniels and Kendall Davis have formed a partnership of sorts on the streets of Southeast Washington. Their mission? HIV prevention. The two share an easy banter after Daniels pulls up in his gold Honda minivan. Shirtless and showing off his tattoos on a sweltering day, Davis produces needles he says he has collected in the woods and counts them for exchange into a red container by the van, where Daniels documents the transaction. Daniels reminds his friend that needles should be used only once. Davis nods, says he has been passing on information that Daniels distributes from the van. He lingers to chat about shared acquaintances and the woes of marriage. When a truck speeds by and spills a few gallons of milk, Davis ignores calls of warning and snags a container. The perfect way to wash down the chocolate cake his friend has brought him. {quote}Imagine if we didn't have a needle-exchange program,‚{quote} says Daniels, who has handed out more than 17,000 needles since launching a program in June for the nonprofit Family Medical and Counseling Services. {quote}We don't give people syringes and needles to help them get high. We give them syringes and needles ... to help keep them clean, healthy and safe till they're able to make better conscious choices and decisions to do something different.{quote}ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©2008 Nikki Kahn
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