"I came to New York City from Venezuela in 1989 and made it my home. This city didn't just give me a place to live; it gave me purpose. When the AIDS crisis was devastating communities in the 1990s, I became an activist with ACT UP New York, working with the Latino caucus. That experience transformed my understanding of community organizing: change happens when people most affected lead the fight."
"In 1996, while working at the HIV clinic at St. Vincent's Hospital, I founded AID FOR AIDS to address a simple but deadly injustice: people with HIV in most of the world were dying because they lacked access to lifesaving medications. We built what became the largest HIV medication redistribution program in the world. The first country we sent medicine to was Venezuela. Over time, that work connected me deeply to networks of people living with HIV there and across the Global South."
"Today, we have supported more than 30,000 people in 75 countries. That connection became painfully urgent in 2016, when Venezuela's health system collapsed. Nearly 70,000 people with HIV were suddenly without treatment. I received a desperate call from the president of Venezuela's network of people living with HIV, asking for help. Together with global activists and partners, including UNAIDS, we mobilized. After two long years, we secured treatment for 35,000 people."
An immigrant from Venezuela settled in New York City in 1989 and became an AIDS activist with ACT UP New York, working with the Latino caucus. In 1996, while working at St. Vincent's Hospital HIV clinic, AID FOR AIDS was founded to combat global inequities in access to lifesaving HIV medications. The program grew into the largest HIV medication redistribution effort, initially sending medicine to Venezuela and later supporting more than 30,000 people across 75 countries. Venezuela's health system collapsed in 2016, leaving nearly 70,000 people without treatment; coordinated mobilization with global partners, including UNAIDS, secured treatment for 35,000 people over two years. By 2018, mass migration known as los caminantes forced families to walk across South America, fleeing hunger, repression, and economic collapse, prompting expanded services.
Read at www.amny.com
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