biomedical HIV prevention (like microbicides , PrEP and treatment as prevention), treatment for genital herpes (HSV-2) and the protective powers of male circumcision and cervical barriers. CEO Mitchell Warren is an outspoken advocate who writes regularly in the HuffingtonPost about the power of prevention. He was one of the first out of the gate this year to publicy tout the “we can end AIDS” beat.
10. B CONDOMS Their motto is “b cool. b safe. b yourself.” Their mission? To reduce suffering and deaths due to sexually transmitted infections in the most affected segments of the U.S. population (think: disenfranchised African Americans and Latinos). Their premium products are handed out in hardest hit areas—American ’hoods where HIV infection rates rival those of sub-Saharan Africa. A portion of their sales is donated to people and organizations that work to prevent STIs. Giving incentives for those who save lives? Smart.
11. FRANÇOISE BARRÉ-SINOUSSI She is the International AIDS Society president-elect, and along with Steven Deeks, MD, from the University of California San Francisco, she heads an international researchers’ working group of 40 people focused on developing a global scientific strategy to cure AIDS and to better understand HIV reservoirs. The strategy, “Towards an HIV Cure,” will be launched at a scientific symposiu m in advance of the International
AIDS Conference (see No. 50) in DC next summer. She codiscovered HIV. Here’s hoping she helps the world lose the virus once and for all.
12. BEAUTY QUEENS WITH A CONSCIENCE The standing platform for Miss Universe is always HIV/AIDS. This year’s winner, Angolan beauty Leila Lopes, will follow in the high-heeled footsteps of former Miss Universes raising AIDS awareness and teaching safer sex around the globe. We’ve already seen her on the AIDS fund-raising circuit drawing attention and dollars. Pretty is as pretty does.
13. EDWIN BERNARD The London-based global expert on criminalization of people with HIV is a policy consultant for nongovernmental organizations. He’s a rabid blogger (read him on POZ.com) and author, whose first book, CriminalHIVTransmission, educates those working in, and with, the criminal justice system. He also launched the HIV Anti-Criminalization Network, an international web of advocates working to end the criminalization of nondisclosure, exposure and non-intentional transmission. For his defense of our civil liberties, we say, here, here!
14. SUSAN BLUMENTHAL, MD In June, the senior policy and medical adviser of amfAR and former assistant U.S. surgeon general gathered the who’s who of HIV/AIDS for a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill. Domestic and global AIDS pros and scientists took the podium one after another and said the same thing: We can stop AIDS. The audience, a mixture of Congress and press, listened hard. It was the first megadose of messaging about ending AIDS we heard this year. And, it was compelling. Many left the room a believer.
15. BOB BOWERS The self-labeled “One Tough Pirate” was recently called an “embittered dissident” by those trying to discredit his cries of foul play directed at the Madison (Wisconsin) AIDS Network. Surviving more than 25 years of HIV himself, Bowers lobbies for more equitable funding, accountability, transparency and a revitalization of HIV/AIDS services. He also educates youth about HIV/AIDS. Part of the group that reactivated ACT UP Wisconsin, he is also the state’s organizer for the Campaign to End AIDS. Call him names if you will. It only makes him swashbuckle harder.
n d to better understand s an HIV ance the 16. MICHELLE BRAXTO N A the state with th with HIV her statu r ealizat i African-A n ow sp e AIDS N e w ho m u unsung h c ritical in commun
An African-American woman living in New Jersey, the state with the highest percentage of women living with HIV nationwide, Braxton was silent about her status for years. Propelled to disclose by the realization that HIV/AIDS is the No. 1 killer of African-American women ages 25 to 34, Braxton now speaks with the New Jersey Women and AIDS Network and at her church to help those who must stay silent. She is just one of many unsung heroes around the country who provide critical insight and outreach to hard-to-access communities of color.
17. GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN (D–CALIF.)
In October, Brown signed a bill that allows adolescents as young as 12 to get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) and receive post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV, all
1 7. GO V I n Octob lescents the hu m p ost-e xp
T WAS A HELL OF A YEAR FOR HIV/AIDS. THIS PAST year, it was shown that treatment works as prevention; there was fresh hope in the fields of cure and vaccine research (one man was publicly declared cured of HIV); and everyone from global health experts to Congress to the media started talking about the end of AIDS. This year, 2011, will be remembered as the year we discovered that if we apply our resources correctly, we can start to end the epidemic.
The trick is to capitalize on our amazing progress, parlaying science into policy and turning optimism into cash, to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The key to how we do this is, in part, the POZ 100. This year’s list celebrates 100 people, things and ideas that reinvent—and improve—how we tackle HIV.
We would need tens of thousands of pages to celebrate all the wonderful people and organizations bravely and effectively fighting the virus. The purpose of the POZ 100 is to highlight some of those who are making big splashes right now. This year’s list is a little top heavy. By that we mean there are a lot of big names in government and global AIDS on it. But the reality of today’s pinched economy means that all AIDS funding is under heavy artillery fire. And the folks on this list have been taking the hits while defending the perimeter. They have gone to bat for our community when others would like us just to go away. And without leadership on global and domestic AIDS at the highest levels, the money expires—and so could we.
That said, the survival of people with HIV has always depended on a one-two punch: leadership from the top and from the grassroots level. So you will also see heroes who are fighting in the trenches, acting as essential thorns in the side of the establishment, working as watchdogs, wielding the press to expose corruption and serving as role models. These extraordinary people prove that a single soul can change the world.
Please know that each and every person living with HIV/ AIDS is always on our list. As is every one of you working out there in the field, as a counselor, an HIV tester, a doctor, nurse, research scientist, fund-raiser, artist, activist, journalist, support group leader, donor, friend, partner or lover.
We know it’s been tough lately, but the message we share on this World AIDS Day is that the science now gives us new justification for a renewed focus on HIV/AIDS. We know many of you don’t have jobs and are worried about money and the future of health care in America. We are too. But we also know that many fierce, smart people are fighting every day for our lives. They’re not going home until it’s over.
The list on the following pages is alphabetized, and the 100th item is as important as the first.
We’d love to hear about people who inspire you. Visit poz. com/100 to post your comments and recommendations.
And, join us in giving a standing ovation to this outstanding group of people, things and ideas. They show us the way to a world we all want to live in—a world free of HIV.