PrEPing for the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

 via The Madison Times, By Phil Wilson


We have reached a deciding moment. HIV is 100 percent preventable, including among some of our most at-risk populations: women, gay and bisexual men and young adults.  HIV is also 100 percent diagnosable and in many cases treatable.  Our prevention toolbox is now exploding with options. We now have the all of the tools needed to end the AIDS epidemic!

The promising new PrEP results arrive at a critical time.  Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the historic National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the nation’s first comprehensive roadmap for fighting the epidemic, and one that places the well-being of Black people front and center. We also have health-insurance reform to provide care to the least among us.

But the anniversary and this remarkable string of study results come during an economic downturn that has seen many people lose jobs and others slip through the proverbial “safety net”—losing health insurance, unemployment, and other benefits.  It also comes at the same time many states are cutting funding for HIV/AIDS-prevention programs and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

So while we have the toolkit to end the epidemic, the question remains whether we have the political will to invest in using the tools strategically, effectively and compassionately.

Read more.

Rep. Quigley, CDC HIV Director Fenton and Black AIDS Institute Head Wilson to Speak in Chicago November 8th

Going to be in Chicago on November 8th? Consider coming to From Vienna to Washington D.C., a free panel discussion on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and other current events in the domestic AIDS battle featuring Congressman Mike Quigley, Kevin Fenton, MD PhD, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute. Read more about the event below and Register today!

Download the poster

Ahead of the 2010 International AIDS Conference held in Vienna, President Obama released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, fulfilling a major campaign promise. Learn about the Strategy and other highlights from Vienna at this local community briefing session. In particular, panelists will discuss what the new Strategy means for Chicago and Illinois and how local stakeholders can give input into planning the 2012 International AIDS Conference taking place in Washington, DC.

AIDS is a Black Disease!

[Phill Wison, founder and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, is now a blogger on AOL's Black Voices Blogs - taking over "AIDS - 25 Years & Counting" - and this is his first post!]

A while ago when I was staffing a booth at the Black Philanthropy conference in Washington, D.C. a young woman approached the booth. "That is sooo wrong." She said. "Excuse me?" I replied. "That's not true," she said, pointing at the slogan behind me in bold red letters, AIDS is a Black Disease! "Black people are not the only ones getting AIDS. Putting things like that out there just further stigmatizes us, and that's the last thing we need.

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Phill Wilson. I'm the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute and I've been living with HIV for 26 years. Over the next few months I am going to be sitting in for Angela Bronner (BV's original AIDS blogger) while she is out on maternity leave. I'm very excited to be joining the Black Voices community. I'm looking forward to being a part of this dialogue about AIDS in our community.

I'd like for you to think of this blog as the 'Everything you ever wanted to know about HIV/AIDS but was afraid to ask' blog. I plan to talk about my own experience and the experiences of my family and friends. We'll look at the latest information on AIDS prevention, care, treatment and research.

And of course, no conversation about AIDS would be complete without thoroughly exploring the policy and politics of the epidemic. After all, I hear there is a presidential election coming up. There are a gazillion people vying for the job. Does anyone know what their plans are to end the AIDS epidemic in our community? Not to contain it or minimize it, but to end it? I think we should find out. What do you think?

AIDS in America today is a Black disease. Of course it's not just a Black disease, but, it IS a Black disease. No matter what lens you use -- gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, level of education, region of the country where you live -- Black people bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic in America today. Nobody wants to talk about that, nobody wants to own that and that silence is killing us.

Read the rest.

Call to Action - Ending AIDS in Boston's Black Community

Here are the facts:

HIV is one of the leading causes of death for Black adults in the U.S.

Among youth aged 13-24, Blacks accounted for 61% of HIV diagnoses.

Black women account for 70% of all female infections in Boston.

In one study, 46% of young Black men who have sex with men tested HIV positive.

Black Bostonians are 4 times more likely than other residents to die of AIDS.

1/3 of Blacks in Massachusetts who test HIV+ already have AIDS by the time they get into care.

Be part of the solution.

Join us for a community discussion about ending AIDS in our community. The statistics are shocking, and the silence and stigma must end. Through this local dialogue we are calling on the community and other partners to issue a call to action to stop AIDS in Black America.

Join us at Hibernian Hall, May 31, 2007, 6-9 pm. Click here to RSVP Today.

Keynote Speaker (pictured): Phill Wilson, Executive Director, Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles.

Other Panelists Will Include:

Douglas Brooks, MSW, LCSW, Vice President, Health Services, Justice Resource Institute.

Catherine duBois Gaynes, HIV/AIDS Activist and Educator.

Reverend Martin D. McLee, J.D., Senior Pastor, Union United Methodist Church.

Harold Cox, Moderator, Associate Dean, Boston University School of Public Health.

This event is free and open to the public. Hibernian Hall, 182-184 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02120 6:00 6:30 pm:

Free Catered Reception 6:30 9:00 pm: Town Hall Meeting Click here to RSVP or call 617-450-1644.

Cosponsored by: AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Black AIDS Institute, Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Justice Resource Institute, and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.