Memory Book: 2001'2003

While crafting HIV Plus's 10th anniversary issue, we scrutinized events of the past decade to select some of its highlights'and unfortunate low points. And while it was clear that the past 10 years were neither as tumultuous as the earliest days of the pandemic nor as euphoric as those of the mid 1990s, when combination therapy forever changed treatment, the decade hasn't been without its memorable moments. We've seen HIV rates explode nationally among women and youths and among African-Americans and Latinos. There were recurring waves of infections among gay men. And we witnessed the virus gaining stronger footholds in the Caribbean, Asia, and Eastern Europe. But there also were hopeful developments'like the rise of a new generation and breed of activist, the approval of new meds offering hope to HIVers who were running out of treatment options, and fund-raisers that drew tens of thousands of people and raised millions of dollars as well as the spirits of their participants. Here, we take a look at a mere handful of those from 2001-2003. 2001

Take It to the Streets A D.C. bus driver waits while several hundred members of ACT UP/Philadelphia and the Mobilization for Global Justice march through the streets of the capital to protest the high cost of anti-HIV meds made available to Third World countries. After the heyday of direct-action groups in the '80s and '90s, ACT UP/Philadelphia is one of the few chapters still making waves and headlines nationwide.

True Grit HIVers and activists celebrate their arrival in Los Angeles after relying on sheer fortitude and determination to complete the physically grueling 575-mile California AIDSRide fund-raiser.

Testing, Testing Between a quarter and a third of all HIV-positive Americans are unaware that they are infected. But testing initiatives, like this one in a Chicago-area prison, are helping to identify people who are carrying the virus before they transmit it to others.

Shine Your Light Though some people say the AIDS awareness ribbon has become so ubiquitous that it has lost its effectiveness, there's no denying the impact of seeing a giant version of the red icon beaming from the United Nations building in New York City to mark the beginning of a U.N. special session on HIV.2002

You Better Work Ravaged by the loss of countless designers and models to AIDS, the fashion industry has long been at the forefront of fighting the disease. The annual Macy's Passport event, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2002, has raised nearly $20 million for HIV outreach.

Painting a Picture With as many as 3 million Indians infected with HIV, raising awareness of the disease has become a priority in the nation of more than 1 billion people.2003

By the Numbers Nelson Mandela announces the launch of 46664, the 'Give One Minute of Your Life to Stop AIDS' campaign, which uses music to raise awareness about the disease. 46664 is named for the prisoner number Mandela was given at Robben Island, where he served 18 of his 27 years' imprisonment under South Africa's apartheid regime.

Spearheaded by Students At a Red Cross'sponsored AIDS awareness event in Shanghai, university students step up to help fill the information gap caused by the slow response of China's leaders to the threat of HIV in the world's most populous nation.