HIV aids

Louise Vincent has used street drugs since she was 13. She has emerged as a leading voice trying to humanize and help people who use drugs as they face the most devastating overdose crisis in U.S. history.

One woman's controversial fight to make America accept drug users for who they are

7:53am November 19, 2023

by Brian Mann

Louise Vincent has used drugs since she was 13. Research shows millions of Americans like her aren't ready or able to stop. Vincent believes it's time people accept that.

In 2003, President George W. Bush created PEPFAR to help countries tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis. Four years later, he spoke at the Rose Garden to urge lawmakers to set aside $30 billion for the cause over the next 5 years. Joining him were Kunene Tantoh of South Africa and her 4-year-old son (pictured). Tantoh, who is HIV-positive, coordinated a U.S.-funded mentoring program for mothers with HIV.

Health & Safety

George W. Bush's anti-HIV program is hailed as 'amazing' — and still crucial at 20

12:16pm February 28, 2023

by Melody Schreiber

PEPFAR is the "most amazing thing in the history of HIV," says Dr. Sharon Lewin, president of the International AIDS Society. Bush himself came to Washington this month to urge reauthorization..

Food insecurity is driving women in Africa into sex work, increasing HIV risk

10:06am November 11, 2022

by Seyma Bayram

A study found that giving direct food support to women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa cut their risk of contracting HIV by 64%, because it alleviated the pressure to engage in high-risk sex.

People line up to receive the monkeypox vaccine.

Science
Arts

Talking about monkeypox? Then you should be talking about sex

5:00am August 18, 2022

by Andrew Limbong

Despite the possibility of stigmatizing queer sex, experts say it's important to keep sex at the center of the conversation around monkeypox.

Dr. Jesse Clark is an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles. The COVID pandemic "has spurred people to try to end the HIV epidemic again," he says.

How COVID vaccines have boosted the development of an HIV vaccine

3:10pm May 12, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

During the pandemic scientists launched a vaccine in record-breaking time. Their successful use of mRNA technology could lead to progress in the decades-long effort for an HIV inoculation.

Queue Listen Now

In 2011, Esco's best friend from high school died of AIDS-related causes. One of Esco's exes also died of an AIDS-related condition. And another friend took his own life after he got his diagnosis — out of fear his family would find out.

Ending HIV In Mississippi Means Cutting Through Racism, Poverty And Homophobia

9:43am March 16, 2019

More than half the new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. are in Southern states, where the rates among gay and bisexual black men remain stubbornly high, despite the existence of medicine to stop the virus.

A nurse tests an HIV-positive patient at a clinic in Bangalore, India.

Health & Safety

Report Warns Of 'Dangerous Complacency' In The Fight Against HIV

6:30pm July 19, 2018

by Susan Brink

Treatment has been a success but prevention is another story, according to a report in The Lancet. And the stigma of seeking help persists.

Rising Cost Of PrEP, A Pill That Prevents HIV, Pushes It Out Of Reach For Many

6:00am June 30, 2018

Many people at high risk for HIV can't afford PrEP, though it's more than 90 percent effective if taken daily. Its list price, close to $2,000 for a 30-day supply, has risen 45 percent in six years.

At a recent National LGBTQ Task Force conference in Washington D.C., Luis Felipe Cebas (right) from Whitman-Walker Health, talks with Sarah Fleming about PrEP, the pre-exposure drug that can help protect against HIV infection.

PrEP Campaign Aims To Block HIV Infection And Save Lives In D.C.

5:21pm April 10, 2018

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

PrEP is shorthand for a pill that prevents HIV infection, if taken daily. As Washington, D.C. aims to cut new infections in half by 2020, it hopes to quadruple the number of residents on the medicine.

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, in the blue T-shirt on the roof, helps build a home for a grandmother supported by his HIV/AIDS nonprofit in rural Uganda.

Why This AIDS Champion Is Conflicted About World AIDS Day

6:18pm December 01, 2017

by Malaka Gharib

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, the founder of an HIV/AIDS nonprofit in Uganda, thinks World AIDS Day could be bigger and better.