FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 24, 2012
Medical Students March to the White House, Demand the End of AIDS
Washington, DC—On July 24, members of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) will join thousands of people living with HIV, scientists and advocates from around the world for the We Can End AIDS March in Washington D.C., during the International AIDS Conference (IAC), July 22-27. Marchers will be calling on pharmaceutical companies, government leaders and policy makers to take drastic steps to end the AIDS pandemic.
The IAC is the premier meeting for the HIV/AIDS community being held in the United States for the first time in over two decades. Thanks to President Obama lifting the travel ban against people living with HIV, our nation is now able to host this important conference.
AMSA, the nation’s oldest and largest, independent association for physicians-in-training, has joined an international coalition of health rights groups to urge world leaders to commit to improve policy and fully fund the end of AIDS. Physicians-in-training will stand in white coats to symbolize the solidarity that we have with our international counterparts, health professional colleagues in poor countries, and most importantly, the millions of people living with HIV/AIDS who currently lack secure and reliable access to AIDS drugs and medical care for opportunistic infections and non-communicable diseases alike.
Tuesday’s Mobilization will start at 12 p.m. and will consist of five separate platform arms that will march separately throughout the city, highlighting policy solutions to a range of social and economic injustices that fuel the spread of HIV. The arms will finally converge together in a spirited rally at Lafayette Park (right across from the White House) at 2 p.m.
“Change in HIV/AIDS policy cannot happen without conviction from the next American president and other world leaders that the time has come to invest in the end of AIDS,” says Marce Abare, AMSA AIDS Advocacy Network Co-Chair. “We are at a major turning point in HIV/AIDS history and now have the potential to be the generation that ends the pandemic.”
Click here for more information on the We Can End Aids March, platform and partner organizations.
About the American Medical Student Association
AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at www.amsa.org.