It’s not too late to change the future…
“We can end AIDS – for good. We have the science and the on-the-ground game to make it happen. The only question is: Will we do it?”
2030 will be a year of reckoning for the AIDS epidemic, marking the first half century of one of the worst epidemics in the history of the world. The 28th International AIDS Conference in July 2030 will include a panel of leaders looking back on the fifty-year history of HIV and AIDS. But what will the panelists say?
If HIV and AIDS have made a strong resurgence during the 2020s, the panel will be called How We Lost the War Against AIDS, and the panelists will focus on what went wrong. It will be a very sober discussion, because they will know that the catastrophe could have been avoided.
BUT… in a different future, a future in which HIV and AIDS are no longer threats to public health, the panel will be called How We Won the War Against AIDS. These panelists will look at the key events and key decisions that kept the global progress going, even during times that were politically or socially challenging. And they will celebrate!
HIV and AIDS in 2030: A Choice Between Two Futures is a book written by Dr. David Barstow about the story of these two future International AIDS Conference panels. The choices we collectively make now will determine which will be fiction and which will be non-fiction. Fifty-percent of the net profits will be donated to charities whose work will help us win the war against AIDS. Watch the book trailer for some highlights. Click here to learn more about the book.
Voices from Two Futures is a series of video reports with commentary from future leaders of the global response to HIV and AIDS. Looking back from 2030, they discuss the issues facing us now in 2020 and the actions we are taking to address them. Some of the comments come from a future in which we lose the war against AIDS and some come from a future in which we win. Watch the trailer for a sample of reports. Click here to see the latest reports and to learn about the future leaders who are watching us.
Discussion Guide The HIV/AIDS epidemic has largely faded from public consciousness. It was a major topic during the early years of this century, with more than 2.5 million new HIV infections and more than 1.5 million AIDS-related deaths each year. Concern about the epidemic led to a remarkable humanitarian initiative that has made amazing progress against the epidemic. Unfortunately, the fight is not over, and there is a real risk of resurgence during the 2020s. It is still possible to end the epidemic by 2030, but it will take a conscious choice and concerted effort. Public awareness is vital to ensuring that we make the right choice and that we persevere through the next decade.
One easy way to raise awareness is simply to talk in groups about the epidemic and the realities of where we are in the fight to win the war against AIDS. Click here for materials to support discussion groups, including a twenty-minute presentation and a discussion guide. Watch the trailer for a preview of topics and questions.
How We Lost the War Against AIDS is a documentary film that hasn’t been made yet, and hopefully never will be. But if the world makes poor choices now, the film will be made in the year 2030. The setting will be the 28th International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, in July of 2030. The documentary will focus on a panel of experts looking back on what will, by then, be a fifty-year history of one of the worst epidemics the world has ever known. The panel will be called “How We Lost the War Against AIDS” because the panelists live in a future in which HIV and AIDS have made a strong resurgence. They will discuss the great progress that had been made in the 2000’s and early 2010’s, and the tragic mistakes that were made in the late 2010’s, leading to a human catastrophe.
Although the documentary film hasn’t been made yet, there is already a trailer. If we pay attention to the trailer, perhaps the documentary film itself will never have to be made.