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
Recognizing HIV and Aging in America
As the population ages, HIV becomes one more factor of concern
On September 18th we observed National HIV & Aging Awareness Day. People aged 50 years and older comprise 42% of all persons living with diagnosed HIV infection and about one in six new HIV diagnoses. As noted in CDC's updated fact sheet, people aged 50 and older have the same HIV risk factors as younger people, but may be less aware of their HIV risk factors. They are also more likely to be diagnosed with HIV infection later in the course of their disease.