In This Issue

Last week, Emory University in partnership with the CDC released new information about HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence among MSM around the country. The study used various methodologies to obtain more accurate information about the number of MSM there are on a state, county and city level. This information is critical in our attempt to assess the actual magnitude of the AIDS epidemic among MSM in America. The data confirmed what many people have been saying for a while—that the AIDS epidemic is not over. It's particularly not over among gay and bisexual men, and it's really really not over among MSM in the South.

In fact, among the 25 metropolitan statistical areas with the highest levels of MSM who've been diagnosed with HIV, 21 were located southern states. Not coincidentally, many of these cities are in states not expanding Medicaid, some are in states that are passing discriminatory laws against LGBT people and many are criminalizing PLWHA. There is no accident that HIV prevention is being undermined in the process in states that are codifying hate and discrimination.

What the study did not do is to unpack the data along the lines of race. We know that Black MSM and young Black MSM are the most at-risk populations on the planet. We call upon Emory and the CDC to focus their efforts on appropriately quantifying the AIDS epidemic among them. While the HIV virus is no respecter of persons, HIV policies and interventions definitely are. We know that the HIV infrastructure and capacity targeting Black MSM are totally inadequate. We cannot develop an appropriate response for this most at-risk population unless we have the latest and the best data that tells us who's out there. So we're calling on researchers to focus their attention on unpacking the data and answering that question.

This June 5th will mark the 35th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic. Thirty-five years into this health disaster, we're still not addressing the needs of the most at risk populations with a high enough sense of urgency. It is imperative that we use this new data to continue build an appropriate and effective response to the AIDS epidemic and figure out ways to use the new prevention tools we have that we know work, in an effective manner.

In this issue, we share the Emory and CDC analysis and run a piece by CDC's Eugene McRae about the importance of these findings and what needs to come next. Also, the Kaiser Family Foundation has published a new issue brief examining the impact of the ACA on PLWHA. Our friends at AIDS.gov report. Building on the momentum of the PrEP booklets they published earlier this year, Outshine NW and Project Inform have launched two new videos promoting personal empowerment in sexual-health decisions among transgender women and men who have sex with men. Read on to learn more. And Kaiser Health News reports on five health issues the presidential candidates aren't talking about but should be.

Finally, I encourage you to listen to the Steve Harvey Morning Show tomorrow, Wednesday May 25th, during the 9:00 hour, when I'll be speaking with Ed Gordon about HIV in Black communities, especially the South.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill