‘Closer Look’ guests talk about the importance of using new tools to combat HIV/and AIDS

A view of sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s estimated in the U.S. that 1.2 million people have  HIV and  1 in 7 of them don’t know they have it.

Data also suggests that in 2020, more than 30,000 people were diagnosed with the virus in the U.S.



In an effort to eradicate the virus by 2030, President Joe Biden released a new five-year strategy.

On Thursday’s special edition of “Closer Look,” Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, the dean and professor of the Duke University School of Nursing and vice chancellor for Nursing Affairs, talked with show host Rose Scott about the history of HIV/AIDS, combating stigma and ongoing testing, treatment and prevention efforts.

Rose then talks with Dr. Bambi W. Gaddist, the former CEO of the South Carolina HIV Council, about her decades-long work of educating others about sexual health and wellness, particularly focused on HIV and AIDS.