Rise in HIV - False Belief in Cure

One of the significant reasons I began my research and documentary work on HIV & AIDS was the fact that many falsely believe that 1) the symptoms of HIV are not as bad as they used to be, 2) it is not a risk in America anymore and 3) there is a cure… all of which are false, unfortunately.

An article on BBC News from this past week addresses the relationship between this rise in HIV and false belief:

A false belief among young HIV patients that the virus can be cured is fueling a rise in infection levels, a specialist has claimed.

The Terrence Higgins Trust says the number of HIV infections has more than doubled in the last six years.

According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity for HIV sufferers, the number of people with the virus has risen from 30,000 in 2001 to 70,000 this year.

The poll of 1,000 people found more than 20% of people aged 18 to 24 mistakenly thought there was a cure for HIV.

HIV in India - New Numbers

According to an article published today by the BBC –

The number of people living with HIV/Aids in India is around half of previous official estimates, at between 2-3.1 million people, new figures say.Previous estimates from the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) put the number of HIV cases at 5.2m, while UNAids in 2006 estimated 5.7m cases.Officials say the lower estimate could be attributed to more accurate data.

But they say, the numbers are still large.

“In terms of human lives affected, the number is still large, in fact very large. This is very worrying for us.” The minister said that India had always been accused of underestimating the number of Aids cases. “That was a disturbing allegation, and today, we have a far more reliable estimate,” he said.

The latest estimates were calculated with the help of international agencies, including the UN and US Agency for International Development.Correspondents say that India was thought to have the world’s biggest HIV-positive caseload, but the new estimate means that South Africa and Nigeria are more severely affected.

India is about to embark on a new and expanded phase of its Aids control programme, with increased funding from the government and from international donors.

 

National HIV Testing Day - June 27, 2007

Wednesday, June 27, 2007.

Today is National HIV Testing Day. After realizing this, I thought it would be a great way to get something out about HIV in the Deseret Morning News. So I went down to the Indian Walk In Center in downtown Salt Lake to try to take some photos of someone getting tested.

When I walked in they said that they had only 3 people that had been tested that day so they couldn’t promise anything and that because of HIPPA I couldn’t take photos of the testing center and the person’s face. We had a couple of minutes to chat before someone walked through the door. I think because of that, she realized that I truly have a passion to get information out about HIV and she was then excited about getting a photo in the paper. Soon a middle-aged man walked into the room. She asked if we could speak with him before the test. He said he would love to and he didn’t mind having his face shown. Wow. Thats amazing.

I decided to go to the Indian Walk In Center first because the numbers of HIV within the American Indian population is rising at a rapid rate and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get information out.

Brad Cuny, 44, is tested for HIV at the Indian Walk In Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday — National HIV Testing Day. Cuny, an American Indian, has not been tested in 10 years. The center has performed 250 tests in the past year and a half with no positive test results. The American Indian population is the third highest among racial and ethnic groups living with HIV and AIDS.

Ray’s Story - Positive Lives

A Project Complete

I just presented my documentary on living with HIV in rural America. This is the reason I actually haven’t blogged in awhile, but I am back and ready to publish the final project.

This project, now titled, Positive Lives: Living with HIV in Rural America, is just the beginning of the work I plan to do on this subject. Like I said at the beginning of this process, there is something about this disease that pulls at my heart. It started from a conversation I had with a girl I used to mentor. One day I asked her is she was scared of becoming infected and she said no and then continued to say that she knew people who were living with HIV and they were fine so she wasn’t scared. This is what others must be thinking also, I thought. So I set out to learn more about HIV and AIDS and to try to use photography as a means to bring understanding to the disease.

My hope is that it brings an understanding that there is still need to be fearful and protect yourself but also to educate people so they are not scared of the people that are already positive.

After doing some research, I realized that people still consider HIV and AIDS an urban disease and are not aware that people do live with HIV in rural areas as well.

In the next couple of days, I am going to post stories of three of those people.

Intimacy

The story of Mike and Ray is one of love and intimacy. They are getting married in July and have taught me a lot not only about love but love without fear. I was interviewing Mike the other day for the multimedia portion of this project and he said something that really stuck.

“I don’t see Ray as a person with HIV or AIDS. I just see Ray as Ray. The fact that Ray does have HIV doesn’t define us. It is an insignificant part of our life but at the same time it is a huge part of our life….because it is his life.

A Mother’s Love

I just finished listening to an interview with the woman I have been photographing for the documentary project on HIV. Her words spoke volumes to the amount of love a mother has for her children.

She was talking to me about doing things over — the possibility of never meeting her ex husband that infected her.

“But then I wouldn’t have these two boys,” she said. “So I can’t say I wish I would have never met him because I love those boys more than anything. I wouldn’t give them up for anything…even not to have HIV.”

This statement strikes a real chord in me. For years, I had no desire to have children but after hearing something like this, I want to know love like this. I want to know what is like to look at another human being and know you created them and want more for their life than yours. To know a love that you would die for.

Telling Their Story

I have asked the people that I am photographing for my HIV project to play a major role in telling their story.

The other day I went to photograph “Mary” after she had caught the stomach flu one of her sons had brought home from school. My intention to photograph her was to show that even a 24-hour flu can be harder for someone with HIV to fight off. When I told her my intentions, she said that I am free to come over to photograph her recovering on the couch but that she is able to fight off these colds etc. just as easily as her sons. While, in the caption I will write how a common cold might be harder for someone with HIV to fight off, “Mary” is able to fight it as easily as her sons.

I think approach has allowed trust and a true voice from the people I am photographing. By telling my subjects my intentions, I feel as they have an investment in this project as well. It is not just me trying to tell a story. They are rather telling their stories and allowing me to document that process.

No One Deserves HIV

Today I found the real premise behind my HIV project — No one deserves HIV and AIDS.

Yet, in the region where I am photographing, people think that those with HIV did something [wrong] to get the disease.

No one deserves this disease. Not one. This fact became real today when I took a photo of a 29-year-old with his 6 -year-old brother swinging on the swings before saying goodbye. I started thinking about the thread that is holding these four separate stories together. It is the fact that they are all great people with great love for life and people and they all have HIV. Throughout my project, my objective has been to show that these people are good people and they have similar desires and loves and they are just as susceptible to the disease as anyone. The perception that HIV is a “disease for bad people” needs to be erased and I hope that my photos will help to do just that.

I hope my project will reveal that you don’t have to be promiscuous or share drug needles to get infected. You can be a mom or a brother or a grandmother or a friend. It is my hope is that these images will help those who are positive hold the same respect as those who are negative.

HIV Project

I have been photographing five people living with HIV in rural America for the past couple weeks. These five amazing people have given me access into their lives and are constantly helping me learn about the disease.

I respect these individuals and thank them so much for allowing me to learn and absorb their stories.

I hope that I can tell their stories with as much respect as I have for them.