2003. The National Institutes of Health releases the press statement titled, "Nevirapine Sustains Advantage Over AZT During Breastfeeding Period." The press release goes on to describe how infants who receive a single does of the inexpensive drug nevirapine soon after birth -- and whose mothers took one dose of the same drug during labor -- were 41 percent less likely to acquire HIV at birth or during breastfeeding than infants in infant/mother pairs who were treated with a multi-dose regimen using AZT. Anthony Fauci states, "This landmark study could have far-reaching implications in resource-poor countries where breastfeeding and mother-to-child HIV transmission are both common."

Sister Mary Elizabeth, a transgender nun and founder of the Web site AEGiS, receives an award at the event Honoring Our Heroes 2003 in Chicago.

The global epidemic crosses a significant threshold when, for the first time, according to new statistics, half of those living with HIV are women.