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Breaking The Silence
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In the Beginning of the world, there was darkness, and GOD spoke and said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" And the silence was broken. The view behind the HIV curtain
in Africa is one of hope, but it is at a distance for most.
HIV/AIDS was at one time equally as threatening to everyone on the
planet, however, treatment is changing the picture in affluent
countries. In poorer
countries prevention is the basis for hope. It took two days of traveling to get to Duban, South Africa from Chicago. One full day was a lay-over in Frankfurt Germany where I took in a city tour and a tour of the famous Heidelberg Castle-- it was the seat of medicine in medieval times, where doctors and pharmacists used ancient techniques employing what we call "Non-Traditional" medicine, such as roots and herbs as cures for disease. This tour was a precursor for what would come at the conference. I was greeted at the airport by
a woman and a young man who would take me to the home of that
woman's parents in one of the townships of South Africa--Lamontville--not far from the conference site. God
made a connection for me even before arriving at the conference itself,
as it turned out the couple that met me were responsible for a community
program called the Lamontville AIDS Center.
I visited the center twice and adopted them as a new group to
support with affordable treatment and educational information. The scene upon arrival was one
of great movement--people
registering, going to pre-opening meetings and sessions, and the
excitement of people greeting old acquaintances still working in the HIV
Industry, and people making new
acquaintances. More than 12,700 people
registered for this Thirteenth International AIDS Conference, the first
time on the Continent. I was happy to be there and grateful to be
representing my community and the communities and organizations I am
working with in Ghana, and now in South Africa. I was proud to be an
example of Hope in Action, believing that I was there for the
purpose of extending LIFE, others and mine.
I cannot say all of what I felt, but
I do know what "Freedom" felt like in a brand new way. The conference featured many
different forums going on simultaneously.
Beginning with the Scientific Programme. The Plenary Sessions were designed to bring the most
distinguished researchers, community leaders and policy specialists
together to give lectures on four main topics: Exposing the Silence;
Living with HIV, HIV Prevention, and Challenges to Vaccine Development.
In the Scientific Programme, there were Debate Sessions, Roundtable
Discussions, Joint Symposia, Oral Abstract Sessions, Poster
Presentations and Exhibitions. I
attended some of these sessions, especially the ones concerning long-term
survivors and the factors contributing to the successful management of
the disease, and how these factors may be duplicated in others. One of the sessions I attended demonstrated that the Innate Immunity is as important as the Adaptive Immunity; the Innate system responds immediately to any infectious invader, while the Adaptive System develops antibodies over time. The conclusion was that one could not exist without the other so they are equally important in the defense of the body. (Continue to next page)
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