Black AIDS Institute Brings AIDS 2012 Hubs to the City of Brotherly Love

African-American HIV/AIDS activists came together in Philadelphia to share knowledge about the International AIDS Conference that was held in Washington, D.C., back in July. These HIV Post-Conference Updates, sponsored by the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN) and the Black AIDS Institute, were held on Sept. 19 at the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) and on Sept. 20 at Temple University.

The crowd, a mix of people living with HIV/AIDS, people working in the field and college students, listened to BTAN delegates including Zupenda Davis, a training specialist at the Health Federation of Philadelphia; Lee Carson, a research associate at PHMC; and Danielle Parks, director of prevention services at Drexel University's College of Medicine. The delegates discussed some of the research presented at the conference, including the newest data on HIV rates among Black MSM; testing, treating and mobilizing the Black community; the lack of HIV messages for heterosexual Black men; and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

These conversations are especially important because they allow people who were unable to attend AIDS 2012 to hear the groundbreaking information shared at the conference. "So this is an opportunity to educate the community and make sure everyone is well-versed on the science around HIV, and to get people around the table and riled up to fight for the issues," said Parks.

In addition, Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, hopes that a serious response from one of these hubs could lead to the end of AIDS in the Black community. He said, "This post-AIDS 2012 update is designed to transfer knowledge from the International AIDS Conference to the Black community in Philadelphia and to make sure they have the information they need to do the work that needs to be done in Philadelphia."

And it's not a secret that this type of knowledge and a larger response are crucial for cities like Philly. In 2011 a total of 53,156 people were living with HIV infection in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2010 that Philadelphia is one of the six major cities with the nation's highest HIV-infection rates. Its infection rate is five times the national average and 1.5 times that of New York City, which is regarded as the historical epicenter of the AIDS epidemic.

And while Carson points out that Philadelphia has always had a robust AIDS response, he hopes that these meetings will ignite additional and more invigorated AIDS activism in his city. "An amazing outcome of Philly's hub was having conversations about how Black heterosexual men and gay and bisexual men can put any differences aside and work much more collaboratively to address this epidemic that is impacting us at great numbers," he said.

Carson added that overall, "This post-conference hub served as a jolt to energize our enthusiasm and challenged us to think more innovatively about how we can do things differently to see better outcomes around reduced new infections and reduced community viral load. I look forward to seeing the ripple effect that the post-conference hub will have on our HIV/AIDS initiatives here in Philadelphia."

Kellee Terrell is an award-winning Chicago-based freelance writer who writes about race, gender, health and pop culture. Her work has been featured in Essence, The Advocate, The Root, The Huffington Post and The Body.