NMAC: National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Join the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) in honoring National Native (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day this year. Held annually on March 20^th, the day is organized by representatives from the Colorado State University’s Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education: HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona and the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center to encourage Native peoples and communities to “work together, in harmony, to create a greater awareness of the risk of HIV/AIDS to our Native communities, to call for resources for testing and early detection and for increased treatment options, and to eventually decrease the occurrence of HIV/AIDS among Native people.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native peoples have the highest rate of HIV infection after African Americans and Latinos, though they account for only 1% of the U.S. population. This is a disturbing in light of the disproportionately high rates of HIV co-morbidities, such as hepatitis C and tuberculosis, found in many American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.

“Stigma is one of the biggest hurdles to HIV prevention, treatment and care in Native communities,” says Brenda Hunt, who is a member of the Lumbee Nation, serves on NMAC’s Board, and is Executive Director of Borderbelt AIDS Resource (BART), in North Carolina. “Many of our people wait to get tested for HIV, and are diagnosed with both HIV and AIDS, or progress to AIDS shortly after their HIV diagnosis.”

This trend has undermined health outcomes for Native people living with HIV, who, according to a 2008 report from the CDC, survive for a shorter period of time after being diagnosed with AIDS than Asians and Pacific Islanders, whites and Hispanics. Socio-economic determinants, including lack of access to quality, culturally-competent health care and education, as well as poverty and homelessness, further undermine the overall health and well-being of many Native communities.

Native gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) have been hit particularly hard by the AIDS epidemic, accounting for nearly 75% of all new HIV cases contracted through sexual contact and injection drug use among American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. These numbers are of particular concern following the March 10^th release of the CDC data analysis showing a sharp disparity in rates of HIV and syphilis infection among MSMs relative to the rest of the U.S. population.

Paul Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director says, “National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day takes place at the start of spring, which symbolizes profound change, new beginnings and birth for many Native communities. I hope we all use this as a time to re-dedicate ourselves to helping to end HIV among American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, and within all communities of color.”

For more information about National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, click here. Also, download the report, NOT ONE MORE: Recommendations to Improve HIV/AIDS Services to American Indians, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians.

About NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) builds leadership within communities of color to address challenges of HIV/AIDS. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced this mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous publications and a website: http://www.nmac.org/. Today, NMAC is an association of AIDS service organizations providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the AIDS epidemic. NMAC’s advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only.

For more information, call NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or communications@nmac.org. Visit the agency online at http://www.nmac.org/, as well as on http://www.facebook.com/ and on http://www.wikipedia.com/. Pictures and video clips from past NMAC events are available from MyPhotoAlbum.com (nmacpics.myphotoalbum.com/), and http://www.youtube.com/, respectively.



NMAC Commends Ban Lift on Syringe Exchange

From the NMAC:

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) applauds Congress for lifting the federal funding ban on syringe exchange programs, in the appropriations legislation passed by the Senate on December 13th.

“Yesterday’s vote demonstrates Congress’ continued commitment to science-based health policy,” says Paul A. Kawata. “In light of health care funding cuts in many states during the recent economic downturn, increased support for syringe exchange programs will help agencies nationwide continue their work mitigating the impact of HIV, particularly in communities of color, which have been hardest hit by AIDS epidemic since it began.”

NMAC in particular praises the leadership of U.S. Representative David Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in calling for the end of the funding ban. Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, NMAC’s Director of Government Relations and Public Policy says, “Far from promoting drug use, harm reduction programs, like syringe exchange, help prevent transmission of HIV and its co-morbidities, like hepatitis A and C, and offer injection drug users a safe gateway to treatment.”

President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law soon, which will grant local agencies and law enforcement flexibility in deciding where syringe exchange programs may operate in their communities. “While NMAC applauds this move forward,” Hayes-Cozier says, “we are concerned that the FY2010 appropriations bill includes only minimal increases in domestic and international HIV/AIDS funding overall. These levels reflect an ongoing belief in the U.S. by many – including government officials – that AIDS is no longer a threat. This couldn’t be further from the truth.”

In the U.S., injection drug use accounts for 12% of the more than estimated 55,000 new HIV cases that occur annually. African American and Latino communities alone account for 70% of all new infections. If unchecked, HIV will undermine the health of future generations around the world, as indicated in the recent World Health Organization (WHO) report stating that AIDS is the number one killer of women in their childbearing years – ages 15-49 – globally. WHO also estimates that AIDS will be the leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

“The global AIDS pandemic is far from over,” says Hayes-Cozier. “Supporting syringe exchange is a positive step in the U.S. to mitigating HIV here and around the world.”

About NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has advanced its mission, “to develop leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS” since 1987 through individualized capacity building assistance; technical assistance trainings; public policy education programs; national and regional conferences; treatment and research education programs; online and printed resource materials; and a website: http://www.nmac.org/. The agency also serves as a membership association for its constituent AIDS service organizations and minority faith- and community-based organizations delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color and advocates on their behalf in Washington, D.C.

NMAC: The Continued Impact of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

From the NMAC:

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) is honoring World AIDS Day (WAD) this December 1 with a special message on its website’s home page, NMAC.org, about the continued impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic domestically. The video features public officials, educators, activists, community organizers and other leaders discussing how we must come together as a nation to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic head on in this country. The video also takes visitors to the site’s comprehensive list of events http://tinyurl.com/NMAC-WAD being held nationwide in honor of WAD.

Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, NMAC’s Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, who introduces the video, says “This year’s World AIDS Day theme, ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’, is particularly timely in light of the nationwide conversation taking place around the formation of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the future of health care overall.

“Unfortunately, many people, including the media, the public and even some government officials, both here and abroad, think of AIDS as a disease occurring elsewhere that no longer impacts the U.S. This is a dangerous misconception, and has played a significant role in fueling HIV infection rates in this country.”

HIV/AIDS has disproportionately impacted undeserved and marginalized populations in the U.S. since the epidemic began in 1981. An August 2008 report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that HIV incidence is 40% higher in the U.S. than originally believed, with over 55,000 new cases occurring annually. Alarmingly, communities of color represent 65% of all new HIV infections. These statistics reflect the socio-economic disparities – including limited access to education and high rates of homelessness, malnutrition, incarceration, substance use, incarceration and poverty – that have undermined the overall health and well-being of marginalized populations, particularly communities of color, in this country, and have created significant barriers to care.

“Since its inception in 1988 by the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day has given us an opportunity to remember the more than 25 million people lost to global AIDS pandemic since it began nearly three decades ago,” says Paul A. Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director. “More than a million of these deaths have occurred here in the U.S., most of them men, women and children of color and/or gay men/men who have sex with men (MSM).

“It is unacceptable that HIV/AIDS remains unchecked in communities of color, and that AIDS is the number one killer of women worldwide between the ages of 15 and 44. Honoring their memory demands that we commit ourselves to mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on future generations. That means having difficult discussions about everything around AIDS – from the need to support HIV vaccine and microbicide research, to how homophobia, sexism and racism help spread HIV.”

To that end, NMAC launched the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) HIV/AIDS Peer Education Initiative, which will train HBCU students on how to get involved and educate one another about HIV/AIDS, at the September 25th “An Evening Without Politics: A Benefit Reception” (EWP) held during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference. Many of the interviews featured in the special video report on NMAC.org were shot during the EWP, and include:

* Jim Brown, Football Legend, Actor, Activist
* G.K. Butterfield, Congressman (D-North Carolina)
* James Clyburn, Congressman, House Majority Whip (D-South Carolina)
* Danny Davis, Congressman (D-Illinois)
* Gregory W. Edwards, Executive Director, Flowers Heritage Foundation
* Debra Fraser-Howze, Vice President of External Affairs, Orasure Technologies
* Vincent Gray, Washington, DC City Council Chair
* Barbara Lee, Congresswoman (D-California)
* Sheryl Lee Ralph, Actress and Activist
* Julianne Malveaux, President, Bennett College
* Dr. Marsh Martin, Get Screened Oakland
* Darian “Big Tigger” Morgan, Television and Radio Personality
* Julianne Scofield, Executive Director, National Alliance of State and Territorial Directors
* Maxine Waters, Congresswoman (D-California)
* Beverly Watts Davis, Senior Advisor to the Administrator, SAMHSA Officer of the Administrator

“The HBCU HIV/AIDS Peer Education Initiative will train a new generation of leaders in our communities who can discuss the epidemic in the U.S. in relation to global AIDS pandemic,” says Hayes-Cozier. “This will be particularly important as we move into the new era of international collaboration sure to follow the official end of the HIV travel ban on January 4, 2010 and the hosting of the International AIDS Conference in the U.S. in 2012.”

More about  NMAC here!

The Largest U.S. AIDS Conference in San Francisco This Weekend

Courtesy of National Minority AIDS Council:

The National Minority AIDS Council, sponsor of the United States Conference on AIDS, is pleased to announce that the largest AIDS Conference will convene in San Francisco, this week, October 29-31, 2009.

The conference is made possible through the support of companies and foundations invested in improving the lives of people with and at risk for HIV infection. The 2009 Presenting Sponsor is Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Foster City, CA. Generous support also was provided by Pfizer, Wells-Fargo Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Total Access Group, Merck, Tibotec Therapeutics, American Airlines, POZ Magazine and GlaxoSmithKline.

“The support of these companies has been more important than ever during this difficult economy, ensuring that those on the frontlines of the epidemic can access a diverse and in-depth roster of institutes, seminars, workshops and roundtables,” says Paul A. Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council.

“Because of their support, USCA participants will leave with new skills, knowledge and inspiration to develop innovative approaches to addressing HIV/AIDS in their communities.”

For 13 years, USCA has brought together nearly 3,000 health care workers, government officials, community-based organization personnel, people living with HIV/AIDS and others working on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to participate in cutting-edge training and networking opportunities. Now the largest domestic AIDS meeting held annually, USCA attendance is expected to be higher than ever due to concerns about the impact of the economy on HIV programming, the recent rise in HIV infections and the possible impact of health care reform.

Sponsors this year also are supporting an intensive program of trainings called the Platinum Friday Series, on October 30th, from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., which will address issues ranging from mental health and HIV; health care reform; case management optimization; issues facing today’s AIDS leaders; and a care and treatment forum.

To attend the conference, please register at the Hilton on Wednesday, October 28th, from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You may also visit us on the web to learn more about USCA.

About USCA
Since 1997, USCA, the largest annual HIV/AIDS meeting in the United States, has strengthened the domestic community-based response to HIV/AIDS by bringing together professionals from across the country to learn new skills and build partnerships and collaborations. The 2009 United States Conference on AIDS is taking place October 29-31, in San Francisco, CA.

The conference’s extensive selection of over 200 institutes, seminars, workshops and roundtables sessions addressing every aspect of the AIDS epidemic – from nutrition and treatment to prevention and international issues – enables participants to customize their training and networking experiences according to their unique professional needs. To learn more about USCA, visit: www.2009USCA.org; call: (202) 483-6622; or e-mail: communications@nmac.org. Follow USCA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/USCA09.

About USCA’s Sponsor, NMAC

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has developed leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS since 1987. NMAC has furthered this mission by providing a public policy education program; national and regional trainings and conferences; treatment and research programs and trainings; numerous publications; and a website: www.nmac.org. The agency also serves an association of AIDS service organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, health departments and other groups assisting people and families. NMAC’s advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only.

From the U.S. Conference on AIDS – Ft. Lauderdale

I am here at the US Conference on AIDS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, along with the National Minority AIDS Council which marks the 10th anniversary of the Minority AIDS Initiative.

Among the thousands in attendance, are representatives from various HIV/AIDS organizations from all across the country, as well as representatives from the U.S. government and private enterprise.

Ms. Milagros, one of the guest speakers who has lived with HIV for the past 17 years spoke at one of the opening ceremonies.

Her story is unique, in that she actually contracted HIV from her ex-fiance who has since passed away. When she first became infected and confronted him about it, he told her, “I knew I was going to take someone with me, I just didn’t know it would be you.”

At first, like everyone who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, she was devistated. But as time went on, she came to the realization, “I am HIV +, but I am not HIV”.

Her advice for those in relationships may seem as something you’ve heard before, but if you stop to think about it, it really affects every living person world-wide. “No matter how much you love someone, and trust that person, and even if you are married, unless you are with them 24/7, you do not know for sure that you can trust that person 100%. You really can only trust yourself. If you are in any type of relationship, where unprotected sex plays a role in that relationship, you need to get tested, tested, and retested on a regular basis.”

The reasons for testing, other than knowing your status, are pleantiful. It is important however to be tested if you are sexually active because early detection is the key to maintaining your health. Late diagnosis is the largest contributing factor to the early on-set of AIDS. If you catch it early, HIV can be treated and controlled, much like asthma or many other chronic illnesses.

Another reason for testing of course is knowing. HIV does not have physical features. Many people believe they know if someone has HIV because they are thin, have hair loss, or skin deftects , etc. This is not true. People with HIV do not have any altered physical appearances. There simply are no physical appearances associated with HIV. This is why an estimated 40 percent of people living with HIV still are not aware they are infected.

For Ms. Milagros, even after 17 years, she appears perfectly healthy, and aside from the fact she is HIV +, she is perfectly healthy. One thing she attributes to her well being however, is speaking about it. For her, speaking is healing. When she gets the chance to speak publically about her experience, her T-Cell count rises, and she feels a sense of worth. If sharing her story can help one person deal with the stress of being HIV +, or help prevent someone from becoming HIV +, then it has literally done a world of good. She is HIV +, but she is FULL of life.

Although the conference only runs a few days, there will be much, much more to come as I continue to provide GayAgenda readers with the vast amount of knowledge I am gaining, over the next couple weeks, and on.

Stay tuned. Much more to come.

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