Stanford Dance Marathon educates, inspires, and mobilizes community to combat HIV/AIDS and support international health.
Overview of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic
The power of the few, the passionate masses, or a vocal student campaign can all be highlighted by the efforts of Stanford’s Dance Marathon. We believe in the power of the individual to affect positive change, and that with all our powers combined, the resulting blend of student energy is greater than the sum of its parts.
Overcoming the challenges presented by the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and tackling the battle against health inequalities will require similar collaboration and international efforts. HIV/AIDS provides a good lens to examine the social, economic, and political environments that exacerbate the effects of the epidemic. In turn, the epidemic inordinately affects populations that are already underserved, underprivileged, and overlooked, and contributes to a downward cycle of social and health inequality.
Treatment as Prevention: Antiretroviral Therapy
What can WE do?
First of all, by educating ourselves about the epidemic, we are taking the first steps toward protecting ourselves and our local community against the disease, and toward joining with our global community in the fight against the virus and its devastating consequences in resource-poor regions.
There is no cure yet for HIV. Fortunately, there are medications called ARVs that can help HIV positive people live longer, more productive lives, as well as many preventative measures that can be taken to curb the spread of the virus. Treating and preventing the disease is not a simple task, however; the virus affects a community in a number of different ways and is perpetuated by many different issues. That is why Stanford Dance Marathon supports an organization that is addressing the epidemic with this comprehensive view. A multi-faceted approach to the epidemic offers the best chance of effectively working against the continued spread of HIV/AIDS.
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