For Arkansas doughboys called up to serve in World War I, the most dangerous posting was not the trenches of France, but the sprawling training camp known as Camp Pike. A camp built just outside North Little Rock.
That was Arkansas' epicenter for the global "Spanish flu" pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed at least 7,000 people statewide, compared with 600 Arkansans who died fighting in the Great War.
I found myself thinking of that dreadful time 100 years ago as I worked on plans for World AIDS Day 2019 with the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of The Links Inc., a national service and friendship organization of African American women.
The theme of World AIDS Day 2019, commemorated Sunday, is "Communities Make the Difference." There are lessons to be learned from America's response to the influenza pandemic 100 years ago that communities can apply to our response to HIV/AIDS today.
That's true even though the scope and timing of the two epidemics are very different.
Spanish flu remains the most deadly epidemic of modern history. It struck hard and fast, killing as many as 675,000 Americans and an estimated 50 million to 100 million people globally in less than two years.
But the HIV/AIDS pandemic has not run its course and then disappeared in classic epidemic fashion. It officially began in 1981 and it's still very much with us. As a matter of fact, a new strain of the virus was just discovered in November.
According to the latest available statistics, 36.7 million people around the globe have the virus. Since its discovery in 1981, more than 35 million people have died from HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. In the United States, 1.1 million people today are living with HIV/AIDS, and more than 700,000 have died from the disease.
Thanks to early detection, along with advances in treatment, more and more people are living long and fairly normal lives with AIDS. Although we still don't have a cure for AIDS, it's not the short-term death sentence it was when the epidemic was raging in America and around the world.
As welcome as this progress is, it should not be confused with victory over AIDS or that the HIV epidemic is a thing of the past. Too many people think that the AIDS crisis is over, and that's a barrier to reaching eradication.
Complacency like that is a major liability for the continuing campaign against HIV/AIDS, just as it was in the struggle against the flu epidemic over 100 years ago. The truth is that the goal line for eliminating this disease continues to elude us, and people are still dying from the disease.
Globally, AIDS is claiming the lives of an estimated 2 million people annually. Children make up 250,000 of these deaths. Charles Lyons, president and CEO of The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, said that "we stand at a critical moment where changes in the HIV epidemic, population needs and the virus itself, as well as persistent gaps in reaching target populations, challenge us to rapidly adapt our approach and adopt new tools." He said further that all of us "must be as aggressive and nimble as the virus itself" in managing the disease.
Another barrier is prejudice against people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Some of this prejudice comes from the disproportionate impact AIDS has had on the LGBTQ community, people of color and poor people from rural communities. We must remember that we are all vulnerable to AIDS and we all share a responsibility to join the fight against it.
Disparity in access to quality health-care services is another barrier. The limited access to health care for poor people in the rural South is often cited as a reason that the South has the highest rate of new HIV infections of any region in the country, followed by the Northeast.
At The Links, we look forward to continually raising the consciousness of communities against these barriers. And we look forward to raising the awareness of individuals about the importance getting of regular check-ups and getting help early if they are HIV-positive.
With the help of our neighbors, health-care providers and government, we hope to encourage healthier people and healthier policies. World AIDS Day seems like a perfect time to start.
The Links will be wearing our red ribbons in support of and solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS. We are community and we can make a difference.
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Esther Silver-Parker lives in Rogers. She is a consultant and a member of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of The Links Inc.
Editorial on 11/29/2019