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But that’s far from the case today, thanks to cutting-edge antiretroviral treatments that work by keeping patients’ virus loads low and their immune systems stay strong. Twenty-five years ago, an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. Happiness Mbewe and her baby benefit from the services with Mothers2Mothers offers at the nearest health facility Malawi. Here are six key things HIV/AIDS experts want the next generation of change agents to know in order to help #makeHIVhistory.ġ. People with HIV today can live long, healthy lives. To that end, Johnson & Johnson sponsored this year's Global Citizen Festival in New York City, a concert and event in Central Park where young people and world leaders can take action together on a variety of social causes-including the crusade against HIV, especially when it comes to raising awareness among teens and 20-somethings. “We hope that, with initiatives like these, we can help end HIV/AIDS within a generation,” Fabiano says. The company has also launched programs worldwide to help reduce the burden of HIV on women and children. Over the past 25 years, Johnson & Johnson alone has developed six HIV medicines and is investigating several promising preventive tools, including an HIV vaccine. That's certainly sobering news given the strides we've made with treatment and prevention efforts in the US since the 1980s. In fact, “black, gay and bisexual men in the US have a higher HIV rate than any other country in the world,” says Alice Lin Fabiano, Global Director of Global Community Impact, a division of Johnson & Johnson that aims to help change the trajectory of health for the most vulnerable populations in the world through strategic partnerships. Over 80% of these cases occur in gay or bisexual males, and over half of them are African American. The HIV virus was first discovered by scientists in 1983, after doctors in Los Angeles and New York began reporting rare types of pneumonia and cancer among gay patients they were treating.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), young people between the ages of 13 and 24 today account for just over one in five HIV diagnoses. 20.įor all the talk of the differences between millennials and preceding generations, there’s one difference that's based in fact: If you were born after 1980, you’ve never known a world without HIV and AIDS. This story was written by Hallie Levine and originally published on JNJ.com on Sept.