-

AHF Honors and Remembers Indomitable AIDS Activist Hydeia Broadbent

Broadbent, HIV-positive since birth, partnered with AHF on several AIDS advocacy and awareness campaigns

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) mourns the death of lifelong AIDS activist Hydeia Broadbent who passed away in her sleep yesterday at the age of 39. Broadbent, who was HIV-positive since birth, first came to national prominence 1996 when she appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and other national news and talk programs at the age of 11 to talk about her life living with AIDS.

Broadbent partnered with AHF on several AIDS awareness campaigns, including riding on AHF’s award-winning 2013 Tournament of Roses parade float titled “The Global Face of AIDS,” on which she represented North American individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Share

Broadbent continued her fierce and outspoken advocacy throughout her youth and adulthood. Over the years, Broadbent partnered with AHF on several AIDS advocacy and awareness campaigns, including riding on AHF’s award-winning 2013 Tournament of Roses parade float titled “The Global Face of AIDS” on which she represented North American individuals living with AIDS. Broadbent also appeared in AHF’s “God Loves Me” billboard campaign, featuring people living with HIV and the simple but profound tag line.

  • AHF’s Las Vegas Healthcare Centers Opening, 2013: Hydeia Broadbent attended the opening ceremony of AHF's first Las Vegas Healthcare Centers. Being from the state of Nevada herself, Hydeia made a special appearance at the ribbon cutting.
  • AHF’s “AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue” campaign, Los Angeles 2014: Hydeia Broadbent spoke at AHF's third community forum in a nationwide series of "AIDS is a Public Health Issue" at the Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles.
  • AHF’s “AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue” campaign, Selma 2015: During the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, Hydeia Broadbent joined Rev. Al Sharpton, Cynthia Davis, and Gabriel Maldonado to speak on a panel at Selma University for "AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue: An Evening of Action."

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.9 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.

Contacts

Ged Kenslea, AHF Sr. Comms Dir.
(323) 791-5526
Ged.Kenslea@ahf.org

W. Imara Canady, AHF National Communications Director
Mobile: (770) 940-6555
Email: Imara.Canady@ahf.org

AIDS Healthcare Foundation


Release Summary
AHF Honors and Remembers Indomitable AIDS Activist Hydeia Broadbent
Release Versions

Contacts

Ged Kenslea, AHF Sr. Comms Dir.
(323) 791-5526
Ged.Kenslea@ahf.org

W. Imara Canady, AHF National Communications Director
Mobile: (770) 940-6555
Email: Imara.Canady@ahf.org

More News From AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AHF Receives Expedited Florida Hearing Opposing ADAP Reductions

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AHF Receives Expedited FL Hearing Opposing ADAP Reductions...

Not On Our Watch! AHF Continues to Stand Up Against Florida Eliminating HIV/AIDS Care

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In continuing to stand up against the proposed cuts to Florida’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), advocates with AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host simultaneous protests at the local department of health offices in Orlando, Florida and St. Petersburg, Florida. Taking place at 10:30am ET on Friday, January 30, 2026, the protests will take place at 205 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street North, St. Petersburg, FL and 932 W. Central Blvd., Orlando...

AHF Sues Florida DOH Over Rules Cutting HIV/AIDS Treatment for Thousands

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AHF Sues Florida Over Rules Cutting AIDS Treatment for 16,000; Press Teleconference, Wednesday, January 28, 10:15 am ET...
Back to Newsroom