How far away is a cure for HIV?

This blog concentrates on HIV in combination with neuropathy and therefore, rarely posts about HIV on its own. However, today's video is of such general interest for all HIV-positive people that for once, straying away from the core topic can be forgiven. You can suffer from neuropathy without having HIV but for most of us, HIV is at the basis of whatever medical problems we have and as such, learning about progress towards a cure can only be of value. The truth is that, for whatever reasons, a cure for HIV is not around the corner; this video helps us understand why.




The following is the text that accompanies the video on YouTube:

What Can We Do Now to Speed Up HIV Cure Research?

After attending a meeting sponsored by several organizations (TAG, AMFAR, Project Inform, the AIDS Policy Project) in Baltimore on April 20-21 this year, I came to the realization that we needed a video that would wake people up to the challenges ahead of us to get to a cure of HIV that is accessible and practical. As most of you know, the case of Timothy Brown (aka The Berlin patient), a person who got cured of HIV and leukemia 5 years ago, has jolted a new energy and hope in the search for the cure. But most people with HIV, policy makers and potential funding sources are not fully aware of this case and what the new movement for a search for a cure are all about. So, I decided to travel around the country to interview key players in advancing this field to make a short video that could serve as a catalyst for awareness and change. This short video, done with a very low budget with the help of my activist friend Greg Fowler, is only part of a longer, more detailed documentary to be finished before World AIDS Day this year, the 30 year anniversary of the first AIDS cases. Please watch it and forward it to your friends. Please follow the suggestions made in that video and become part of the cure! Everyone can do something now to raise awareness and funds not only for research but also for advocacy and education in this important new and expanding area. I hope I can count on you.

--Nelson Vergel