Advocacy is at the root of every piece of good news associated with HIV/AIDS:  the fact that anti-retroviral therapy, which was available only to the wealthiest a decade ago, is now prolonging the lives of close to two million people in developing countries; the fact that the need for children’s versions of those drugs, believed extravagant just a few years ago, has made its way onto the international agenda and stayed there; the fact that the care-related duties of women, whose share of the AIDS burden never stops climbing, have finally been acknowledged (if not yet relieved).... Examples of successful advocacy abound. With the launch of our website, we’re calling for more. 

In these early days, our website is spare, but it offers a sampling of AIDS-Free World’s issues, agenda items, debates and features. As you’ll see, we are not a new source of facts and figures; many excellent websites have that ground well covered. We are not involved in service delivery, though that’s also critically important, and we don’t conduct scientific research. We advocate. We question and coax, push and prod whenever injustice, illogic, indifference or inertia encroach. As the site expands – as it will do quickly over the coming weeks and months – we’ll be presenting strong views about what’s right, what’s wrong, and what has to change about the global response to HIV/AIDS. You will find that we’re impassioned, but not impulsive; our positions are grounded in the facts, carefully researched and thoroughly analyzed. No doubt some opinions and exposés will cost us a few friends, but with tens of millions of lives at stake, that’s a price we’re willing to pay. Our loyalty lies with the fearless activists and advocates, sung and unsung, whose demands for social justice have brought us this far in the struggle. AIDS-Free World is proud to contribute its voice to that chorus. We invite you to add yours.

Stephen Lewis, Paula Donovan
Co-Directors
AIDS-Free World

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