World AIDS Day 2024: Honoring Those Who Passed Through Our Actions
By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 1, 2024
Every year in the HIV field, we lose many heroes. These may be people living with HIV (PLWH) who advocated for themselves and others (“nothing about us without us”), or changemaker allies who focused their talents on addressing ongoing inequities in HIV prevention and care, or people who reminded us that HIV (or any disease) is only one aspect of anyone’s life and reminded us that seeing our whole selves is core to our humanity.
In 2024, we lost some greats who changed our lives and the lives of so many others who work in the HIV field and beyond. We highlight a few giants who were partners in ETR’s work and inspire us to keep up the fight.
In January, we lost Dr. Ada Adimora, a physician-epidemiologist. Ada was a champion in the global HIV community working to address pervasive gender and racial inequalities in HIV care, and a devotion to elevating attention to women in HIV research.
She was an expert advocate who used her training to ensure that complex science informed actionable steps for medical practice and policy reform. ETR will honor Ada by continuing to ensure that science is foundational, and that we engage deeply as translators of the science for program development and to influence policy.
In February, we lost Hydeia Broadbent who worked to reduce HIV stigma from the earliest years of her childhood. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and so many other public outlets to share her story and her experiences starting at seven years old and continuing as a changemaker throughout her life. ETR honors Hydiea by centering youth engagement and amplifying youth voice in all aspects of our work.
That same month, we lost Cecilia Gentili an activist who worked actively in the HIV field to address the disproportionate impact of HIV on transgender communities. ETR honors Cecilia by working with communities most impacted to improve access to community-centered HIV prevention and care.
And just a couple of weeks ago, we lost Cornelius Baker. Cornelius was a change agent in the global HIV response and public health overall. He was a mentor and a source of light in his work. He always worked to center community and reminded us whenever he could about the power of human connection. ETR honors Cornelius through our people-centered approaches to our work internally and in collaboration as partners in the fight for health equity.
World AIDS Day presents an opportunity to both celebrate our progress over the last four decades and recognize the work that lies ahead of us. As an organization with a longstanding commitment to working with the HIV community, ETR chooses to honor their legacies by continuing our work grounded in the spirit of the messages they centered through their actions, and how they made us feel about the hope and possibility to end the epidemic.
Vignetta Charles, PhD, (she/her/hers) is the Chief Executive Officer of ETR.
