HIV Then and Now – W e’ve come a long way

published on June 1, 2015 in Interior Health

Interior Health has launched a new campaign to show how advances in HIV treatment and care have improved the lives of those living with the disease. The campaign aims to break down stereotypes that prevent people from being tested and accessing life - saving treatment.

The “HIV Then & Now” campaign builds on the momentum of Interior Health’s innovative “My Health is Sexy” campaign which was launched in December 2014. The “HIV Then and Now ” campaign tells the stories of people who are living with HIV today. It put s face s to a disease that just 20 years a go, in the absence of effective treatment, often progressed to AIDS and equalled a death sentence. Today, people receiving treatment for HIV can expect to live long, healthy lives free of symptoms.

“For us to achieve an AIDS - free generation within our lifetime we need to address the stigma and fear related to HIV, says Dr. Trevor Corneil, Medical Health Officer with Interior Health. “Stigma stops people from being tested and starting treatment. This campaign shows how extraordinary advances in treatment have transformed HIV into a manageable disease that no longer needs to be feared.

”The campaign shares the stories of two B. C. men. Dale from Kamloops who was diagnosed with HIV in 2004 and Michael from Vancouver who was diagnosed in 2007.

“My life fell apart when I was first diagnosed with HIV. I refused treatment and gave up on my life because I thought I was already dead but I was wrong,” says Dale. “Once I started treatment, everything changed. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. I own a home and a business and have been reunited with my family. Just three pills a day are all it’s taken to transform my life.”

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HIV Then and Now – W e’ve come a long way

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