In July 2002, the streets of Barcelona became a stage for global defiance. As the XIV International AIDS Conference convened under the theme “Knowledge and Commitment for Action,” AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) advocates and allies took that call literally by marching, chanting, and demanding change.
Photo of the speakers at the AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now! protest on stage in front of the Palau Nacional.
On the steps of the Palau Nacional, voices rang out during the AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now! protest. AHF President Michael Weinstein, Chief of Global Advocacy Terri Ford, and fellow activists delivered a unified message: treatment delays were costing lives, and the world could no longer afford inaction.
Amid a sea of protesters, banners reading “Medication for Every Nation!” cut through the crowds, capturing a simple but radical truth that access to HIV/AIDS treatment should never depend on geography or income. AHF emerged at the forefront of a growing global movement, pressing world leaders, pharmaceutical companies, and policymakers to confront the inequities that left millions without life-saving care.
The AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now campaign later traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004 for the XV International AIDS Conference, and then to Toronto, Canada, in 2006 for the XVI International AIDS Conference. At each stop, AHF continued pushing for expanded treatment access, confronting barriers to care, and amplifying the voices of communities most affected by HIV/AIDS.
More than two decades later, AHF’s global beginning remains a powerful reminder of what collective action can achieve. It underscores a lasting truth: when advocates come together with purpose and persistence, they can reshape policy, save lives, and move the world closer to health care as a human right—for everyone, everywhere.
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