Ricki Lake and a group of social media stars have teamed up to launch the 'Treatment For All' campaign.
Ricki Lake has teamed up with social media stars to launch #TreatmentForAll, a movement to stop the AIDS epidemic by treating those affected with HIV shortly after diagnosis.
The television host sat down with ET on the eve of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, to talk about her new initiative, and addressed Charlie Sheen's recent announcement that he's HIV positive.
WATCH: Charlie Sheen Reveals He's HIV Positive
"I think it was incredibly brave of him," Lake shared, praising Sheen's comment that he's been on treatment since he was initially diagnosed.
"It's very hard to transmit the disease when you're on medication," Lake added. "If everyone, at the point of diagnosis, is put on these anti-viral meds, they not only will not get sicker themselves, but they will keep from transmitting it to other people."
Despite Sheen raising awareness of HIV, Lake said that the issue is still not widely discussed, despite its "staggering" prevalence across the globe, and that is something that needs to change quickly.
WATCH: Paula Abdul Praises Charlie Sheen's 'Brave' HIV Admission
As part of the #TreatmentForAll campaign, which began with the launch of a documentary released on Facebook on Monday, Lake and a number of social media influencers -- including Wesley Stromberg, Sammy Wilkinson, Megan Nicole and Melvin Gregg -- were flown to Malawi "to see how HIV/AIDS is effecting that part of the world, and to bring the message back home."
Ultimately, the goal of the campaign is to get treatment for 28 million people by 2020. “Imagine the moment when we have all the tools that we need to reduce new HIV infections by 90 percent to save millions of lives,” said U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Deborah L. Birx. “That moment has arrived and the time to act is now. #TreatmentForAll will help change the conversation about what is perceived as possible, raising public awareness and catalyzing change around the world.”
Watch Lake's poignant interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday. Check here for local listings.
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