How the Unfolding Oral HIV and AIDS Story affected Policy

The emergence in 1981 of what was to become known as AIDS, the most significant pandemic of the modern era, initiated an irreversible revolution in health care, science and many other fields. From basic laboratory science discoveries occurring at unprecedented rates, through more slowly developed but paradigm-shifting approaches to care, new antiviral and anti-opportunistic disease therapies, infection control, ethics of care, facilities design and medico-legal aspects to massive funding infusions, all health and related professions and sciences were changed forever. While caring for our patients, educating our students, colleagues and the public and doing research in unknown territory, we learned to venture into new and untested fields, notably working together with patient advocates and activists to lobby for funding, policy changes, antidiscrimination laws and much else. We had to learn the political process, initiate and guide legislation, institute and monitor compliance with new ethical and legal standards and apply all of these novel experiences in our laboratories, clinics and educational activities. What those in the field learned and what we did will have a lasting influence not only in the disciplines of AIDS/HIV and of Global Health, which emerged from it, but also pervasively in many areas of human endeavor.