Lisa, Atlanta
Lisa is the Director of Programs at Atlanta-based Sister Love Inc., an HIV and Reproductive Health organization for black women, their families, and their communities.
Lisa on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Q: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is February 7. What would you like to tell people about HIV vaccine research on this day?
Get involved. This means understanding that participating in HIV vaccine research is a role HIV negative people can do in response to those who are HIV positive. There is no "they," or someone else, who is going to be a part of the vaccine process that will impact our community and delay disease progression.
It's up to us to get ahead of this disease by participating in HIV vaccine research because it will benefit ourselves and our community. It is our right and our responsibility to participate in efforts that impact our bodies. The only way we will be able to say what happens to our bodies is to be part of that informed process, even if it is a process that is full of questions. Everything we do is full of questions and uncertainty. But as a community, it is our job to participate in finding protection for our community. Not necessarily a cure, but protection in whatever way that looks like.
Lisa on World AIDS Day
Q: What does it mean for you to be a community leader?
Because I have access to information, I have a responsibility and a role to step up and inform the community about the issues that are impacting us, that are harming us. It's my job to ensure that we are adequately informed and that we have access to prevention strategies that can help impact our ability to prevent some of the diseases that are chronically impacting our community.
Q: World AIDS Day 2008. What can people do to become leaders around HIV vaccine research?
People need to speak about HIV vaccine research. As community leaders, it's our job to put this language into people's mouths. HIV vaccine research must become just as familiar for people as the term HIV. People need to know that there is something being done to prevent HIV in our communities besides prevention education. As far as what you can do, you can participate in a trial and you can educate someone about HIV vaccine research. You should at least have information about it in your life.
Leadership can be informing someone else about what's going on so that they can make an informed decision about it. Just as quickly as we spread rumors, we should be spreading good information, and this is vital information.
Leaders at every level we should know, at least, what HIV vaccines are about. Research is on-going and a vaccine is currently not available. It's important that we don't come into the game once everything is done. We have to be part of the process to create a vaccine and that it is our destiny as a group of people to be empowered enough to participate in our own answers and development. We have to be a part of the process of educating ourselves and knowing what we can do to make a difference.
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