News 2016
Black AIDS Institute, BTAN, Faith Leaders and U.S. Ambassador Birx Join to Fight HIV/AIDS in Chicago
Deborah L. Birx, M.D., U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy
Beginning next Tuesday, October 18, 2016, four events to mobilize communities to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic will take place in Chicago, including a reception and roundtable between local faith leaders and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads all of the U.S. government's international HIV/AIDS efforts. The events, which are open to the public, include:
In This Issue
Today the Black AIDS Institute and BTAN chapters in Baltimore, MD, and Broward County, Florida, host AIDS 2016 Updates to provide an overview of key research presented at the International AIDS Conference and discuss how to tailor it to the local community. If you live in either of these cities, we hope to seeing you there. See AIDS 2016 Updates, below, to register.
PrEP Campaign Targets Black Women in Washington, DC
New PrEP campaign targets black women
This summer the Washington, D.C., Department of Health (DOH) rolled out its first pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) campaign targeting Black women. The campaign #PrEPForHer—the first of its kind created by the D.C. DOH—invites Black women to take charge of their sex lives by taking the daily pill for protection against HIV, and explains that PrEP is safe and available for everyone.
Read more: PrEP Campaign Targets Black Women in Washington, DC
We Owe It to Our Young People and Our Future
Nation acknowledges National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
On September 27, the nation observed National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Some may wonder why there is a need to raise awareness about HIV among gay men. The reality is that HIV has fallen off the radar for many in the community who view HIV and HIV-related deaths as a thing of the past.
Catching Fire:The Realities of the New Era in HIV Prevention and Care
Richard Wolitski, Ph.D., Acting Director of the HHS Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, reflects on the 2016 United States Conference on AIDS held recently in Florida
I felt an excitement at the U.S. Conference on AIDS (USCA) that I hadn't felt for a while. We're at the start of something new, something important, that's just starting to catch fire. I can't tell you how many conversations I had with government, national, and community leaders last week at USCA about what treatment as prevention and PrEP mean for our work and our lives. The implications of the most recent data released at the International AIDS Conference regarding treatment as prevention and PrEP are starting to take hold. Follow up of HPTN 052 found no cases of HIV transmission from someone who was virally suppressed, adding to the evidence from other studies. Studies on PrEP reinforced that it is more than 90% effective when taken as prescribed. People who have near-perfect adherence to PrEP have even better results.
Read more: Catching Fire:The Realities of the New Era in HIV Prevention and Care