Health Action AIDS

Local Gathering about a Global Epidemic

What happened in your living room on January 10? For Health Action AIDS campaign supporter Maureen Koechler, the answer is one you might not expect. Earlier this month, the campaign organized a gathering in her home in Harrison, NY that brought together health professionals, students, community leaders and an influential decision maker to discuss the global AIDS epidemic from a health and human rights perspective.

© PHR

From left to right: Local pediatrician, Dr. Melissa Rose; public health expert Maryse Georges, MPH; Jason Turi, RN, BSN, MPH, local Service Coordinator for the Pathways To Housing in Brooklyn (behind couch) and Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY-18) discuss solutions to address the epidemic.

© PHR

From left to right: HAA Campaign Director, Pat Daoust, MSN, RN; Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY-18); Event Host, Maureen Koechler and PHR Board Member, Dr. Gerald Thomson pose for a photo in Maureen Koechler’s living room.

One of the highlights of the event was a visit from Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who serves as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations and represents New York's 18th Congressional District. Displaying her commitment to hearing from constituents, Congresswoman Lowey sat among attendees and talked with them about the need for robust funding to fight global AIDS and comprehensive prevention strategies. The Congresswoman concluded by welcoming her constituents in the room to visit her White Plains office to discuss funding and strategies necessary to fight the pandemic.

Also in attendance were PHR board members Dr. Gerald Thomson and Dr. Allan Rosenfield. Dr. Rosenfield is Dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and one of the world's preeminent experts on HIV/AIDS and maternal and child health. Dr. Rosenfield shared this expertise in a discussion of efforts to prevent mother to child transmission (PMTCT) in a way that values the mother as much as the child. He persuasively urged attendees to advocate PMTCT-plus; emphasizing mothers' need for continued care and promoting women's rights in the process. Dr. Gerald Thomson, professor emeritus of medicine at Columbia University, reaffirmed the notion that health professionals are uniquely qualified to advocate for these life-saving strategies, and for the fulfillment of fundamental human rights.

"We worked hard to create an atmosphere of compassion, where people were not afraid to come forward, be tested, and seek care" said Health Action AIDS Campaign Director Pat Daoust, MSN, RN, riveting the gathering with her personal stories about international work on HIV/AIDS. Daoust also spoke about HIV/AIDS in resource-poor settings and the feminization of the global epidemic; today women and young girls make up more than 60% of the population living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

Also presenting was advocate Jason Turi, RN, BSN, MPH, local Service Coordinator for the Pathways to Housing in Brooklyn. Mr. Turi shared a presentation that touched on his work in Haiti and painted a picture of the local epidemic, telling the story of Annie, a success story from the Pathways to Housing project. In this way, he highlighted the parallels between fighting HIV/AIDS locally and globally.

But speakers weren't the only ones talking. Participants got involved too. Using a rights-based approach to health, guests discussed how solutions to the epidemic must address the devastating gender dynamics of AIDS and place women's empowerment at the center of programming and planning.  Discussion also highlighted that addressing global HIV/AIDS in resource poor settings requires dealing with the massive health worker shortage and strengthening health systems.