Studer Community Institute

Pensacola marks World AIDS Day tonight

December 1, 2014
/ Ben Sheffler
/ community-dashboard

Maurice Moody believes the “Zero Day” is on its way in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Zero to Moody means zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related mortalities. "As an optimist, I believe we can do that," Moody said. "Especially when you look at the new technology in regards to testing and new innovation regarding medication." [sidebar] For more information, call 429-7551 or visit the event's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WorldAIDSDayPensacola. [/sidebar] Moody is a member of the planning committee for Pensacola observances of the 26th annual World AIDS Day, scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza downtown. The event will feature local artists, music and keynote speaker Dr. Susan Walch, an associate professor of psychology at the University of West Florida. The theme is “Getting to Zero.” "Dr. Walch has been a longstanding advocate and champion for HIV prevention and care, so we are pleased to have her," Moody said. Treatment for HIV includes antiretroviral therapy, and the proper medication can now reduce the viral load of HIV to an undetectable status, greatly reducing the chances of transmitting the disease. In a case where someone suspects he or she has been exposed to HIV, there is post-exposure prophylaxis that includes a 28-day medication cycle, greatly reducing the chance of infection. There's also pre-exposure prophylaxis, where someone would take one of the antiretroviral therapy medications for seven days. This equips the immune system with a defense mechanism against HIV infection and reduces the chance of infection by 99 percent, according to Josh Menge, executive director of the Red Ribbon Charitable Foundation, Inc. "By using all of these tools in our toolbox for prevention, again, we've known since the very beginning that HIV is preventable," Menge said. "The missing link is 'how do we get people educated about this, how do we get people to talk about it?'" It's estimated that over 50,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year, and there are about 1.4 million Americans currently living with HIV, says Dr. John J. Lanza, director of Florida Department of Health in Escambia County. As of 2013, Lanza said 56 individuals in Escambia County were reported to be living with HIV. "World AIDS Day is an opportunity to bring attention to the HIV pandemic around the world and how it affects our local community," he said. Menge said it's the youth who aren't getting the message, partly due to the Florida public school policy of abstinence-only sex education. Young people are becoming infected between ages 14 and 24, with many infections occurring soon after becoming sexually active, Menge says. "There's very little effective sex education going on within our public school system," he said. "This is not a disease of shame, it is something that we ought to make a routine part of our health care check up." Individuals can get tested without parental consent as early as age 13. "HIV is preventable," Moody said. "There's no predisposition to HIV. Consequently, no one needs to be infected, and no one needed to have been infected."

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Pensacola marks World AIDS Day tonight

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