It is with great sadness that GNP+ pays respects to Skip Rosenthal, a former Board Member, who passed away peacefully on Friday , 7 June 2019. Skip was a valuable supporter of GNP+, having served on the board, being a representative of GNP+ North America and working as a consultant. Skip was an ardent human rights defender for people living with HIV and the LGBTI community, and was a community leader for over forty years – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Skip founded, developed, sustained and expanded a fully operational peer-based AIDS Service Organisation, International AIDS Empowerment, which provides HIV care, prevention and social services on both sides of the US/Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. The organisation later added an LGBTI center with a pharmacy and doctor’s space to, a fitness room, an LGBTI library and social activities geared toward gay youth.Skip served as a consultant for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, and others. More recently, he worked with the Texas Department of State Health Services to assist the state to adapt to the new healthcare environment. Skip has been recognized as a leader in the implementation of new HIV prevention technologies including Treatment as Prevention, Microbicides, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
GNP+ is truly grateful for Skip’s selfless and tireless work for the rights of people living with HIV and key populations over four decades. We send our condolences to his family and friends.
