Eliminating HIV/AIDS: How We'll Get to Zero

Fighting More Than HIV

As tempting as it is to focus solely on HIV, the HIV pandemic isn't just about the virus itself. For one thing, it's about the social and economic conditions that put people at greater risk for becoming HIV positive, that make them less likely to be tested, and that make it harder for them to access lifesaving care once they're diagnosed.

For another, the HIV pandemic is about all of the other viruses and diseases that swirl around it. People with malaria are more likely to get HIV, and vice versa. Tuberculosis is the No. 1 killer of people with HIV worldwide. People with genital herpes outbreaks are more likely to get or transmit HIV during sex.

HIV doesn't exist in a vacuum. To beat it, we must join forces with, rather than compete with, efforts to fight the other issues and health problems that intertwine with HIV and make it so much more deadly.