Fighting Pandemics Together
Document Type
Presentation
Type
Information Motivating Public Activism (IMPACT)
UN Sustainable Development Goal
UNSDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being
Start Date
29-4-2020 10:15 AM
End Date
29-4-2020 10:30 AM
Abstract
As of April 2020 the world has come to a halt. A pandemic has spread across 200 countries, the world economy is crashing, and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people have died. However, COVID-19 is not the first time this has happened. The lessons of the past give great warning to the actions of the present - specifically the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition that was first coined by the term GRID, or Gay-Related Immune Deficiency. In 1981, large outbreaks of rare diseases (typically affecting only those with comprised immune systems) were predominantly confined to the gay community - leading many to make the connection between homosexuality and having this fatal condition. In reality, there were mass amounts of homophobia surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic that profoundly changed the way people and doctors responded to the pandemic. The relationship between homophobia and AIDS is a deep and traumatizing one that continues to last to this very day.
Almost 40 years later, the rise of COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed and heightened xenophobia against Asian-Americans across the world in a manner which, unfortunately, draws many parallels to the AIDS epidemic and related homophobia.
In this project, we will be examining the spread of these two viruses and most importantly, how societal discrimination has impacted not only medical response to those infected but exemplified hurtful cultural stigmas for the rest of society. By using chronological timelines, data, and statements to explain the ill consequences of such discrimination, we hope to draw attention to this issue. And in the interest of public health and social justice, to ultimately put a stop to all forms of discrimination and stigma of infectious diseases.
Fighting Pandemics Together
As of April 2020 the world has come to a halt. A pandemic has spread across 200 countries, the world economy is crashing, and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people have died. However, COVID-19 is not the first time this has happened. The lessons of the past give great warning to the actions of the present - specifically the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition that was first coined by the term GRID, or Gay-Related Immune Deficiency. In 1981, large outbreaks of rare diseases (typically affecting only those with comprised immune systems) were predominantly confined to the gay community - leading many to make the connection between homosexuality and having this fatal condition. In reality, there were mass amounts of homophobia surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic that profoundly changed the way people and doctors responded to the pandemic. The relationship between homophobia and AIDS is a deep and traumatizing one that continues to last to this very day.
Almost 40 years later, the rise of COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed and heightened xenophobia against Asian-Americans across the world in a manner which, unfortunately, draws many parallels to the AIDS epidemic and related homophobia.
In this project, we will be examining the spread of these two viruses and most importantly, how societal discrimination has impacted not only medical response to those infected but exemplified hurtful cultural stigmas for the rest of society. By using chronological timelines, data, and statements to explain the ill consequences of such discrimination, we hope to draw attention to this issue. And in the interest of public health and social justice, to ultimately put a stop to all forms of discrimination and stigma of infectious diseases.