This World AIDS Day, take time to recognise the power of human touch, through 5B:

Proudly commissioned by Johnson & Johnson, the 5B documentary film is an inspirational story of everyday heroes, nurses, doctors and other care staff who took extraordinary action to comfort, protect and care for patients on one of the first AIDS wards.

A proportion of proceeds from the film downloads will go to (RED) to fund HIV/AIDS projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background to 5B: In the early 1980s a mysterious virus appeared, seemingly from nowhere; people were brought into hospital and within a few weeks they were gone. No-one seemed to know what the virus was or how it was spread. Fear gripped the world and in San Francisco General Hospital staff saw a tide of people with the virus coming through their doors. These people were placed in isolation, with signs on their doors saying, ‘Do Not Enter.’ Food trays piled up, beds weren’t changed, all because people were afraid to go in their rooms. Placing a caring hand on patients suffering from what was known at the time as “gay cancer” was unthinkable.

Then nurse Cliff Morrison changed everything. He led a team of staff who knew they had to treat these people with better care, compassion and dignity. When he asked patients what they wanted, they told him:

'I want to feel like I’m being treated like a person.'

'I want people who are not afraid of me.’

‘I want people to touch me.’

The healthcare team at San Francisco General Hospital worked tirelessly to create a solution that would mean caring for these patients with a human touch. In July 1983 a dedicated ward was opened for AIDS patients, Ward 5B. It not only defied convention but also established a new standard of care for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Proudly commissioned by Johnson & Johnson, the 5B documentary film forms part of the company’s long-standing commitment to the support of nurses and other healthcare professionals at the front lines of care.

We won’t stop until we end HIV.

Over the past 30 years science has transformed HIV from an acute fatal illness to a manageable, chronic condition. Yet many living with HIV are still not virally suppressed.

Today, with the right care and treatment, people living with HIV can expect the same lifespan as someone without the virus.[1] However, despite progress made, HIV remains one of the greatest global health threats of our time. There is still work to do for the two million people in Europe with HIV, a figure that continues to grow across the region.¹

At Janssen, we are committed to the millions of people living with or at-risk of HIV. We are optimistic about the future - we’ve changed the face of HIV, and we can change it again.

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