2014 National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness-Las Vegas

GOMOJO empower our community members with the information, resources and tools needed to achieve their goals by increasing knowledge , skills, technology, infrastructure and stats, facts and good times necessary to implement and sustain science-based , culturally appropriate HIV, STIs and unwanted pregnancy prevention and intervention strategies.

GOMOJO is here today in response to the July 2011 CALL TO ACTION for ALL LEADERS to join the fight against HIV/AIDS and for an AIDS FREE GENERATION. The President asked for us all to focus on the hardest hit demographics with grossly disproportionate rates of infection in particular young Black Americans and Faith Based Organizations. Following the directions of the President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint to an AIDSFREEGENERATION as an ongoing process of pursuing a course of high impact prevention: increasing our focus on building the capacity of our community and disseminating the United States Federal Governments appropriates recommended strategies with positive interventions and strategies and increasing our distance learning, growth and endless NEW opportunities in DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS

fSTATS AND FACTS FOLKS

The ninth in a series of articles about the Road to AIDS 2012, a 17-city tour that seeks to define the state of the U.S. epidemic and that leads up to the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2012. The eighth installment reported on the New York meeting.

Nearly two years after the White House released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), several Las Vegas residents who attended a town hall meeting on April 16 at theProgressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada complained that they knew little, if anything, about it.

An audience made up largely of community members, community-based organization leaders and legal professionals discussed some of the challenges in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the NHAS has established several goals designed to aid in that cause, town hall participants said that there has been little effort to ensure that the local community understood the national strategy in the first place. Younger members of the audience were particularly frustrated with the lack of communication about the strategy. "Being that I'm in the 18-25 age range, I've never heard of the strategy," said one audience member. "I think that's a problem."

But the lack of information wasn't unique to a specific age group. "I haven't heard much about it, either," stated an older audience member. "I think we're doing a great disservice, since it's a year out and that information hasn't been disseminated to the general population."

The NHAS was released on July 13, 2010, giving the United States a blueprint for fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Its goals include reducing the incidence of HIV, increasing access to care and reducing HIV-related health disparities. Although the document lays out a plan, it stresses that communities must work together if the plan is going to be successful, pointed out A. Toni Young, moderator of the event and executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Community Education Group. If communities are largely unaware of the document and its tenets, the likelihood of success decreases, Young said.

Many reasons were given for the lack of knowledge about the strategy. Town hall participants pointed to a disconnect between the federal government and those on the ground in Nevada. "There is no congruency between what's said in Washington and what comes down to the state and local communities," one town hall participant said. "You can take a paragraph that was written in D.C. and it becomes different paragraphs in different parts of the country."

Town hall participants also complained that local organizations don't communicate effectively with one another. One participant complained that the larger community-based organizations are more likely to "cannibalize" the smaller organizations than to collaborate with them.

Others complained that local organizations didn't represent the needs of all community members. For example, one audience member said that the local community-planning group does not have much youth representation, so young people don't feel that their needs are being met. "As a youth, I feel like we get leftovers," the participant said. "I just turned 22. I feel like we'd be more interested if we had someone around our age rather than someone who's 40 telling us what to do."

Once frustrations were expressed, several town hall participants expressed a desire to work better together in the future. Others stressed the importance of being more proactive to make sure all voices are heard. For example, rather than complain about having no voice, "young people have to apply to be on the community-planning group," said Young.

While the lack of knowledge about the strategy may have been a hindrance to past efforts, town hall participants must move forward with the new information and figure out how to apply it to their local community, said panelist Marsha Martin, director of the Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services. "Talk to your agency about the strategy," she said. "Figure out what the Nevada strategy is."

http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/boh10/0422m.php

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) 2014,

CHANGES AS PROMISED

As we observe National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) 2014, we are reminded that African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV/AIDS in the United States. Among African Americans, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (Black MSM) are especially hard hit, representing more than half of all estimated new HIV infections among African Americans each year. A particularly disconcerting estimate in 2010 showed that young Black MSM aged 13 to 24 accounted for the greatest number (4,800) of estimated new HIV infections among African Americans.Furthermore, from an analysis of data about African Americans diagnosed with HIV infection from 19 jurisdictions that CDC released yesterday, we know that compared to Black women, Black men — regardless of transmission category — have lower levels of linkage to and retention in HIV care and are less likely to have achieved viral suppression (i.e., have controlled the virus at a level that helps keep them healthy and reduces their risk of transmitting the virus to others). The study also revealed that by transmission category, men with infection attributed to male-to-male sexual contact had the lowest percentage of linkage to care.

These disparities highlight that, despite important strides that have been made toward national HIV prevention, care and treatment goals, we clearly have more work to do as a nation to effectively address HIV among Black MSM, especially with regard to outcomes along the HIV care continuum [PDF 1.9MB].

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy highlights both the disproportionate impact of HIV among MSM in the U.S., the concentration of HIV among Black MSM within the African American community, and clearly states that “the United States cannot reduce the number of HIV infections nationally without better addressing HIV among gay and bisexual men.” The Strategy also observes that our national commitment to this population has not always been commensurate with their disproportionate burden of HIV.

So, as we mark the annual observance of NBHAAD, we all—both individually and collectively—are called to be even more thoughtful, creative, and focused about actions we can undertake to strengthen HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment for Black MSM in communities across the United States.

Among federal programs, several important activities are underway in this regard:

Increasing the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS service providers to serve Black MSM –Applications are due later this month for a new Resource/TA Center for HIV Prevention and Care for Black MSM being supported by HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau. To assist HIV service and other healthcare providers, the new center will identify, compile, and disseminate best practices and effective models for HIV clinical care and treatment across the HIV care continuum for adult and young Black MSM ages 13 to 24.
Promoting and supporting HIV testing among Black MSM – CDC’s Testing Makes Us Stronger social marketing campaign encourages Black MSM to get tested for HIV. Through compelling campaign ads in national magazines and on targeted websites, as well as through local advertising and materials distribution in target cities, CDC emphasizes the importance of getting tested for HIV regularly to help stop the spread of the epidemic. The campaign also includes a Facebook page and a dedicated website with a suite of campaign materials available for individuals and organizations to download and distribute. Complementing this important outreach campaign, CDC makes significant investments in both health departments and community-based organizations to support high impact prevention activities, including testing.
Supporting engagement in HIV care – The HHS Office for Civil Rights’ Information is Powerful Medicinecampaign focuses specifically on Black MSM, underscoring how having access to your medical records can help you better manage your health. Access to this information empowers patients to track their progress, monitor their lab results, communicate with their treatment teams, and adhere to their important treatment plans. The campaign also provides information on e-health tools, such as the “Blue Button,” which make it easier, safer, and faster for consumers to get access to their health information.
Strengthening state efforts for Black MSM – Under the Care and Prevention and Prevention of HIV in the U.S. (CAPUS) demonstration project, several of the eight participating states are focusing their efforts specifically on Black MSM. The three-year demonstration project is supported by the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund and seeks to support these states, each with disproportionately high burdens of HIV/AIDS among minority communities, to improve HIV testing, engagement, and retention in care among racial and ethnic minorities. In Illinois, for example, the state health department has launched a youth of color-specific initiative in East St. Louis to co-locate medical (including LGBT health), psychosocial, prevention and support services in a single setting by collaborating with the local health department and community-based organizations in East St. Louis, Illinois and across the river in St. Louis, Missouri.
Supporting Implementation Research – The focus of the ongoing NIH-supported HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 073 study is determining the willingness of Black MSM to use a daily antiretroviral pill aspre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Studies such as HPTN 073 are critical in bridging our understanding between biomedical advances in HIV prevention and behavioral, social and structural factors that are often in play.

“We are greatly encouraged that many of these federal activities are consistent with recommendations made during our 2012 consultation with community leaders and federal partners about HIV among Black MSM,” notes Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases. “These efforts, and many more underway at the federal as well as state and local levels, are vital to reducing new HIV infections among Black MSM and to improving outcomes all along the HIV care continuum for this disproportionately impacted population.”

Timothy Harrison is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Feb. 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and The Center is reminding the community that they offer free HIV testing and counseling.

The Center, located at 401 S. Maryland Parkway, offers free testing and counseling from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The testing is offered as part of Southern Nevada Health District's testing and counseling programs.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, African-Americans account for 47 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States despite representing only 12 percent of the total population.

The rate of new HIV infections among those aged 13 to 24 has increased nearly 21 percent since 2008.

On the good side, the rate has decreased for black women. However, 64 percent of all women diagnosed with HIV in 2011 were African-American.

Dear Obama,

Hello my name is Michele Bader Reed FROM Las Vegas, NV. In 2011 you made a call to all action for all leaders to stand up join the fight against the pandemic rate of new HIV/AIDS infections, in particular young

Black Americans. I am happy about the many changes you have made to the PEPFAR Blueprint and

Strengthening the Economy for Those Living With HIV/AIDS and Fighting the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

The President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget demonstrates that we can make critical investments to strengthen the middle class, create jobs, and grow the economy while continuing to cut the deficit in a balanced way.

The President believes we must invest in the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising and thriving middle class. He is focused on addressing three fundamental questions:

How To make America once again a magnet for jobs, the Budget invests in high-tech manufacturing and innovation, clean energy, and infrastructure, while cutting red tape to help businesses grow.

To give workers the skills they need to compete in the global economy, it invests in education from pre-school to job training.

To ensure hard work is rewarded, it raises the minimum wage to $9 an hour so a hard day’s work pays more. do we attract more jobs to our shores?

How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do the jobs of the 21st Century?

How do we make sure hard work leads to a decent living?

The Budget presents the President’s plan to address each of these questions.

The Budget does all of these things as part of a comprehensive plan that reduces the deficit and puts the Nation on a sound fiscal course. Every new initiative in the plan is fully paid for, so they do not add a single dime to the deficit.

The Budget also incorporates the President’s compromise offer to House Speaker Boehner to achieve another $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction in a balanced way. When combined with the deficit reduction already achieved, this will allow us to exceed the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction, while growing the economy and strengthening the middle class. By including this compromise proposal in the Budget, the President is demonstrating his willingness to make tough choices and his seriousness about finding common ground to further reduce the deficit.

Continue to Support the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and Expand Investments in Prevention, Care, and Research.

The Budget expands access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities and supports the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to reduce HIV incidence; increase access to care and optimize health outcomes for people living with HIV; and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

By providing resources for Affordable Care Act implementation, the Budget will support increased health care coverage for thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS and expand access to HIV testing for millions of Americans.

The Budget makes smarter investments by prioritizing HIV/AIDS resources within high-burden communities and among high-risk groups, including gay men, black Americans and Latino Americans.

Compared to 2012, the Budget increases domestic discretionary Health and Human Services (HHS) HIV/AIDS funding by $73 million and Veterans Affairs (VA) HIV/AIDS funding by $155 million.

Overall, total U.S. Government-wide spending on HIV/AIDS increases from $27.8 billion in FY 2012 to $29.7 billion in the FY 2014 Budget.

Increase Funding for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Service Integration.

The Budget includes $833 million, an increase of $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue implementing the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy by preventing HIV/AIDS among high-risk communities using evidence-based interventions.

The Budget redirects $40 million from less effective activities to support a new $40 million Community High-Impact Prevention initiative to improve systems that link persons recently diagnosed with HIV to care.

The Budget also increases funding for data collection by $10 million to improve timeliness of data and invests $10 million to build the infrastructure and capacity that State Public Health Departments and community-based organizations will need to bill private insurers for infectious disease testing.

Learn about the Locator app for iPhone and iPad and download the app here.

Using an Android phone? Download the app here. You can also send a text message with your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or visit http://hivtest.cdc.gov/