Cities in the South are experiencing record-high rates of HIV infection among African Americans.
Pope Francis sent a message of hope to the International AIDS Society’s 8th Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention this past summer. He told participants, “that all advances in pharmacology, treatment, and research will be matched by a firm commitment to promote the integral development of each person as a beloved child of God.”
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Pope Francis’ message to the International AIDS Society conference was addressed to Dr. Julio Montaner, the director of the British Columbia Center of Excellence in HIV/AIDS at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. In response, Montaner said that Pope Francis understood the HIV problem better than some scientists. The conference’s major focus was on ensuring early HIV treatment for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. Those people are living in U.S. cities like Atlanta, where high HIV rates are largely the consequence of a lack of quality health insurance, as the Emory study found.