HIV Long-Term Survivors Day

Published: June 3, 2020

June 5 is a day set aside each year to honor long-term survivors of HIV and to raise awareness of their needs, issues, and journeys.

Long-term survivors look like everyone else, but their stories say more than most.

First dubbed the Gay Cancer, then GRID and in 1983 as HIV/AIDS. Today we know that HIV doesn’t discriminate, and it impacts people of all ages, races, sexual orientations and socio-economic backgrounds.

The first HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day was on June 5, 2014. It was started by Tez Anderson founder of Let’s Kick ASS – AIDS Survivor Syndrome (LKA) the lead-sponsor of the day. It is a time to celebrate the strength and resiliencies of people living longest with HIV/AIDS.

People who were diagnosed as living with HIV before the advent of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy or pre-HAART and have survived are typically considered long-term survivors. They are a distinct cohort facing a myriad of unique challenges. They have watched and experienced the changing tides of medical and mental health care; the loss of friends, family members, and lovers or spouses; fluctuating interest in public HIV education; and stigma.

Learn more about HIV Long-Term Survivors and HIV in general from the following:

HIV Long-Term Survivors Day Official Site

AIDSinfo.gov

The Graying of AIDS