"I join in marking World AIDS Day, when people across America and in countries around the globe remember those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS and express solidarity with those living with the disease today.    “While we can celebrate the enormous strides made in treating HIV/AIDS and extending life for millions with the virus, nothing can lessen the pain experienced by those who lost loved-ones or the anxiety that remains a daily companion to those living with HIV/AIDS.  That's why we continue to offer our comfort to the families of those lost and why we must redouble our efforts to find a cure and more effective treatments.    "For LGBTQ Americans, World AIDS Day has a special resonance, as it was their community that bore the worst of the epidemic in the 1980's and 1990's.  For too long, many Americans ignored the HIV/AIDS outbreak, thinking it did not affect them.  That attitude was born of bigotry but also of fear.    “Much like the COVID-19 pandemic we now confront, the science and realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic showed us how interconnected we all are as fellow Americans and fellow human beings.  'No man is an island entire of itself,' wrote the poet John Donne, 'every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...'  So too must we accept that we are one community, one country, one world, as we confront together the public health challenges that threaten all people.   "I pray for the families of those lost and for the health of those who still live with HIV/AIDS today.  Together we must help stop the spread and support research into treatments and a cure.  Together we can defeat HIV/AIDS and recognize the equal dignity of every person; in doing so, we can bring our nation and our world closer."