AIDS group returns to its birthplace for conference

Twenty-five years ago, the National Minority AIDS Council was formed out of a meeting that took place in a trailer park behind the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas. The American Public Health Association had just held its first-ever plenary session on AIDS, but it had failed to include any people of color on its panel. In response, leaders from minority communities across the United States came together to highlight the unique challenges the epidemic posed for them.

To mark this occasion, we are returning to where it all began, bringing the United States Conference on AIDS, the nation's largest annual AIDS-related gathering, to Las Vegas this week. It runs today through Wednesday at Caesars Palace. More than 2,000 clinicians, care providers, activists and advocates will gather to discuss the latest trends, groundbreaking interventions and cutting-edge strategies that have the potential to bring an end to this decades-long epidemic.

Since our first meeting 25 years ago, much has changed. Investment in research has paid off in huge and unexpected ways, resulting in a series of exciting new tools that, combined with traditional methods of prevention - including condoms, syringe exchange and comprehensive sex education - are revolutionizing how we fight HIV.

At the same time, a series of health policy initiatives have laid the groundwork for ensuring that these interventions can be put to use in the most effective ways possible. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy, released two years ago, set ambitious goals for reducing new infections, increasing access to care and minimizing health disparities. And the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will increase access to care through its insurance exchanges, Medicaid expansion and reforms that protect individuals from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

However, we have considerable work ahead of us. Some 50,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year. Among gay and bisexual men, infection rates are increasing. Young gay and bisexual men 13 to 29 constitute less than 1 percent of the general population but account for 64 percent of new infections, and young black gay men saw a 48 percent increase in infections between 2006 and 2009.

Las Vegas is no exception when it comes to these trends: In 2008, its metropolitan area was ranked 24th in the nation for number of HIV diagnoses.

Our nation faces a fundamental choice: We can continue to sacrifice our public and fiscal health on the status quo, or we can choose to make the smart investments and structural changes necessary to finally end HIV/AIDS. For the first time in more than 30 years, it is possible to realistically envision an America free from this disease.

But accomplishing this will not be easy. It will require bold, visionary leadership and the commitment of all of us to successfully translate the promise of this moment into a world without HIV/AIDS. Science and research have given us powerful tools. Now we must decide to act. Those of us gathering at the U.S. Conference on AIDS this week have committed ourselves fully to realizing this dream. We invite you to join us.

Paul Kawata is executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Minority AIDS Council.