In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control reported that five gay men in Los Angeles had become ill with a rare form of pneumonia. The report was the first official description of a syndrome that would later be called AIDS. Three decades later, 30 million people have died from the virus.
“Anniversaries compel us to reflect, to take stock, to inquire about how we can better carry out our missions,” said Julio Frenk, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health. He and Dr. Richard Marlink, Executive Director of the Harvard AIDS Initiative (HAI), are heading AIDS@30, an international symposium in Boston in early December.
The AIDS epidemic has spawned an unprecedented global response, marked by groundbreaking scientific research, activism, philanthropy, and government interventions. AIDS@30 will bring together hundreds of scientists, advocates, and political leaders to assess what we have learned from AIDS and how to apply those lessons towards ending the epidemic.
“Our hope for the symposium is to bring the vanguards of scientific thinking, of public health implementation, and of international leadership here to really plan the demise of this epidemic,” said Marlink.
To view agenda or register for the symposium, visit the AIDS@30 website.