Military health care professionals join to combat global AIDS

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  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew Bates
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO, Texas --  Military health care professionals from 30 countries gathered here Dec. 4 for the sixth annual international HIV/AIDS Strategic Planning and Policy Development course.

The week-long course, which is hosted by the Defense Institute for Medical Operations, aims to help senior military and civilian leaders develop, strengthen and implement effective HIV/AIDS prevention and education strategies in their respective countries.

"AIDS is a global problem," said Brig. Gen. (Dr.) David Young, III, commander of the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, guest speaker at the conference's opening ceremonies. "The world shares this disease. It transcends races, genders and borders and together the nations of the world need to seek a cure."

For Col. (Dr.) Tshomba Hondo, an internal medicine specialist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, AIDS is a disease his country is all too familiar with. More than two and a half million people are infected by the virus, with nearly a quarter of them in the advanced stages of this disease.

The majority of those infected are the result of violent sex crimes committed by members of the various military factions that are warring against each other, Colonel Hondo said. This, in turn, has led to a nation with orphanages full of HIV-positive children.

So, for the colonel, traveling halfway around the world to attend this course was not merely something he wanted to do, it was something he had to do.

"Until recently we still had many people in my country that refused to admit AIDS even existed," he said. "It is my hope that I can learn from the experiences of others here that I can take back with me and increase the awareness and prevention of this pandemic in my country."

While prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS within military organizations is the course's ultimate goal, this will not be possible without proper education at the lowest levels. Something the nations of the world are constantly improving at, General Young said.

"Education is the key to prevention," he said. "It keeps those without AIDS from getting it and those with it from spreading it or getting worse. So, courses such as this one allow health care professionals from across the globe to come together and create HIV/AIDS education practices that can be used globally. "

From a military perspective, AIDS/HIV is a concern to health officials because of its potential impact on a unit's wartime capabilities.

"Basically, AIDS effects readiness," General Young said. "Each servicemember infected is one who is not battlefield ready."

For this reason, the U.S. military has invested much time and research into finding a cure for this widespread disease. In fact, the military was the first organization to come up with an effective treatment for AIDS. It has also led the charge in prevention techniques by requiring mandatory testing of military personnel on a regular basis - something the Centers for Disease Control is now saying should be required in the civilian population.

"We've been a step ahead," said Col. (Dr.) Matthew Dolan, DIMO director. "We're doing a pretty good job of educating our people and quickly identifying those who are infected, but we still have a ways to go."

While progress seems slow in coming in Colonel Hondo's nation, he is the first to admit the Congo has come a long way since even 10 years ago. Much of this is due to the fact that nations such as the United States are not only offering friendship, but help.
"The problem of AIDS is not fixed, but we are constantly discovering new advances in the treatment and prevention of this disease," he said.

And, with the world's top medical professionals working together, HIV/AIDS will soon be a thing of the past, the colonel added.

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