'It’s Not Over Yet': Rae Lewis-Thornton And The Ongoing Fight Against HIV 30 Years Later

'It’s Not Over Yet': Rae Lewis-Thornton And The Ongoing Fight Against HIV 30 Years Later

By Victoria Uwumarogie ·Updated July 21, 2025 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… This story is featured in the July/August 2025 issue of ESSENCE.Rae Lewis-Thornton was Bino Doing the Work  Gracie Cartier, 46, of Los Angeles, is a trans woman, an activist and a host of Plus Life Media’s What’s the Jeuge talk show. Diagnosed with HIV in 2003, she has been using her platform to end the stigma around it. A former star ­hairstylist who worked w…

Uganda Leads Africa in Global Fight to Eliminate HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis Transmission to Children

Uganda has taken center stage in Africa’s public health transformation as it officially launched the continent’s first High-Level Conference on the Triple Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis. The three-day conference, hosted at Speke Resort Munyonyo, is expected to set the pace for integrated disease elimination across the continent. While speaking at the ongoing conference, the Minister of Health…

Living positively beyond HIV

All I want is for HIV to end with me,” says a young woman renamed Dorothy Banda to safeguard her identity, rights and integrity. Her voice oozes acceptance and determination. Growing up in Dedza, Dorothy loved playing games with her friends. However, those carefree moments were often interrupted by a routine she dreaded, taking her daily medication. The pills were large, hard to swallow and “an unwelcome reminder of a battle I did not fully unde…