2011 HIV/AIDS Year in Review

As a year marked by huge successes and bitter disappointments for the HIV/AIDS community draws to a close, TheBody.com takes stock of 2011 in this series of exclusive articles.

• 10 HIV/AIDS Stories That Defined 2011 in the US
  As the calendar marches toward 2012, there is good news -- and not-so-good news -- to report regarding the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In this slideshow, we take a brief look at some of the major HIV/AIDS stories that rocked 2011, with a focus on those that are especially relevant to people within the U.S.
• Top 10 HIV/AIDS-Related Clinical Developments of 2011
  David Wohl, M.D., takes an in-depth look at this year's 10 most important HIV-related studies, and explains how each one may change how we prevent and treat HIV in 2012 and beyond. (Fair warning: This article can get pretty technical, but each story has a "bottom line" section to help explain its importance.)
• Strangest but Truest Posts in TheBody.com's "Ask the Experts" Forums -- the "Best of Dr. Bob" Edition
  This year, we lost one of our site's most beloved experts, Bob Frascino, M.D. ("Dr. Bob"). Among his endless string of wonderful qualities, Dr. Bob was often known as the guy who patiently, and hilariously, responded to some of the most unusual questions about HIV that you're ever likely to see. We highlight some of the most unusual questions he ever answered, and ask you to vote on your favorite.
• Word on the Street: "What Were 2011's Biggest Setbacks? What Are Your Hopes for 2012?"
  2011 was marked by epic highs and devastating lows, thoughtful commemorations and persistent disappointments. We asked HIV/AIDS community members from throughout the U.S. which events and circumstances from 2011 weigh most heavily on their minds, and what they're most looking forward to next year. Read their responses and add your own!
• What's the Buzz? The Top 10 Stories on TheBody.com in 2011
  Every year, TheBody.com publishes thousands of articles -- but a handful always stand out as the most popular, exciting or controversial. We take a look back at some of these eye-opening articles, as well as the comments our readers posted about them.
• HIV/AIDS Community Spotlight: People Who Made a Difference in 2011
  We take a close-up look at some of the HIV/AIDS organizations and advocates who led the way this year in the constant battle to ensure greater rights, access to services and fair treatment for people living with (or at high risk for) HIV/AIDS.
• Taking on the Race Across America: Talking With Team4HIVHope 2011
  What's it like to be part of the first-ever team made up mostly of openly HIV-positive riders to complete the Race Across America? Team4HIVHope 2011 conquered this grueling 3,000-mile challenge for the first time this past June, and sat down with TheBody.com to recount its experiences. Now, as the team welcomes new members for 2012, we look back on that conversation, presented in two parts.
  • Part One
  • Part Two
• Bloggers and Guest Columns: Perspectives on the Year That Was
  • Beyond the Bad News: Highlights of 2011
    "Sometimes I feel like the bearer of bad news. It's not a job I chose, but it is one I do well," muses Aless Piper. "But I do delight in sharing the good news -- even if it doesn't come as easily. So here is my list of some of the good, and downright awesome, highlights this year."
  • Sowing Seeds for the Movement
    It was just this past January 2011 that Khafre Abif came onboard as a blogger on TheBody.com. "I have been amazed at the reach blogging can have," he writes. Khafre shares how the past year as a blogger has helped him build on several ongoing projects -- including the epic Cycle for Freedom HIV awareness bicycle challenge.
  • Just Fine
    Philip D. looks back on the past year and all the HIV-related challenges he's faced; then he matches each with an aspect of his life nowadays that he's thankful for. "I am an admitted, lifelong pessimist in recovery; so when I say that things have never been better, you really have no reason to doubt me," he writes; "If my life continued on the way that it was ... before HIV, it would not be as rich and full of possibility as it is right now. ... Did I just type that?"
  • Be the Best You Can Be in 2012! I Am!
    For Rae Lewis-Thornton, 2011 was a year wracked with hellish health challenges. Her amazing resiliency pulled her through, and now she's looking forward to what 2012 will hold -- including her 50th birthday, and an exciting new venture.
  • Meet the 2012 Team4HIVHope Racers
    Team4HIVHope finished eighth in last summer's 3,000-mile Race Across America. In 2012 they've got designs on the top three -- and they've got a researcher onboard studying HIV-positive and -negative endurance athletes. Meet the new team!
  • Massachusetts HIV Testing Policy in 2012: Six Degrees of C. Everett Koop
    "If so many can occupy Wall Street, why can't one single soul chain himself to the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House?" laments "accidental activist" Ed Perlmutter. "I'll even chain myself sideways and stay put until the legislature sees fit to pass a smart HIV testing bill."
  • 2011: Grateful and Thankful
    With her signature sweetness and optimism, Teniecka Drake reviews her hopes for 2012 and reminds readers: "Whether we live with a condition or not, we all have something to be grateful and thankful for."
  • Fear, Not Loathing and HIV
    "As we wind down 2011 and look back at the year in HIV and everything we've published on TheBody.com, I want to reflect on what you haven't seen on our site," our general manager, Aryeh Lebeau, writes. "We take the liberty of screening article comments -- mostly to eliminate spam, but also to filter out an occasional hateful message or two. Here are a few lovely examples from this year."
  • Volunteer Positive's First Group of HIV-Positive Volunteers en Route to Thailand
    "Ten international volunteers will make history this January 2012, as they become the inaugural team of people living with HIV to serving openly as international volunteers ... This fall, Volunteer Positive's executive director, Carlton Rounds, hosted a dinner for the organization's NGO partners in Chiang Mai and was overwhelmed with the support received on behalf of the volunteers by this remarkable community." Look for reflections and blog entries from the volunteer team in 2012 here on TheBody.com!

  
  

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