 |
| Image Source: webmd.com |
When AIDS first hit the country in the 1980s, it was like hitting on death’s head. The AIDS epidemic was considered as one of the most serious health-related events of the 20th century. It created a stir on the financial, social, and healthcare sectors in their struggle of coping with the epidemic. The development of antiretroviral drugs in the following years has somewhat raised hope to AIDS victims and their families. However, the high cost of these drugs makes them almost inaccessible to many.
As several states suffer the pangs of AIDS, community-based organizations, like the New York-based AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), have heeded to the battle cry of AIDS/HIV patients.
 |
| Image Source: californiareport.org |
First known as the Community Research Initiative on AIDS (CRIA), ACRIA is composed of a group of physicians, activists, and HIV victims who are frustrated by the slow pace of government and academic AIDS research. The dynamic group of AIDS physicians and researchers, like Drs. Joseph Sonnabend, Mathilde Krim, and Michael Callen, engaged in an aggressive approach to the study of new treatments for HIV and AIDS. Since ACRIA’s inception in 1991, it has been contributing to the development of medications to combat the disease. As stated by the organization, “We have contributed to the development of more than a dozen medications that have received FDA approval, helping countless thousands of HIV-positive people live longer, healthier lives.”
Video Source: youtube.com
Philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg is one of the benefactors of ACRIA. This Facebook page provides more updates on his humanitarian initiatives.
