Author Archives: administrator

Having HIV/AIDS: Fighting stigma

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From the Windy City Media Group…
by Lawrence Ferber

Hearing the words “I’m HIV-positive” made Bryan* ( names and some details have been changed ) freeze. A 23-year-old graphic designer, Bryan had met a guy at a Boystown gay club, a svelte 25-year-old tourist, Zach, with whom he danced, drank and laughed. Around 1 a.m., just before heading to Zach’s hotel for more private activities together, Zach disclosed his positive HIV status. His viral load was undetectable—successfully suppressed with a drug regimen to the point it was low to no risk for transmission; also, he was clear of other STDs and he packed an ample supply of condoms.

Bryan declined to go back with him, though, offering a politely worded excuse rather than saying what he really thought: “I don’t sleep with HIV-positive guys.” Zach, however, had heard those words, or variations of the same, more than a few times since his diagnosis a couple of years ago, and he could see them clearly in Bryan’s green eyes. He felt like shit—judged and tainted—and while Zach wouldn’t lie and tell someone he was negative, he understood why so many others in his shoes have and do. Bryan ended up getting lucky a couple of hours later at another bar with Alex, an architect-in-training who said he was negative.

There’s a twist: Bryan, in fact, was positive, although he wouldn’t find out that until six months later, when he got tested for the first time in almost three years—something he put off because, in the back of his mind, he was concerned about a bareback encounter with someone he met on Grindr who, the next day, deleted his profile and disappeared, as if in a magic poof of smoke.

“Stigma is really damaging on both ends,” said Matthew Rodriguez of the comprehensive HIV/AIDS resource site The Body. “For negative people, stigma can sometimes stop them from getting tested. If they feel they did anything that put them at risk, they may not want to get tested because the result may be devastating. I think it also stops people from interacting with those living with HIV as full people. People just look at you as a status, as a virus.”

Continue reading on Windy City Media Group.

 

U.S. HIV ‘Treatment Cascade’ stats dismal among western nations

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From AIDSmeds.com…

Compared with other high-income Western nations, the United States fares remarkably poorly in getting people with HIV diagnosed, into stable care, on treatment and to an undetectable viral load, aidsmap reports. Researchers conducted an analysis of the “treatment cascade” figures for Australia, British Columbia (statistics for all of Canada were not available), Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Results were presented at the HIV Drug Therapy Glasgow conference in Scotland.

The estimated rates of HIV diagnosis among the countries ranged from a low of 71 percent in British Columbia to a high of 86 percent in Australia, with the United States at 82 percent. The United States had the lowest rate of linkage to care, at 66 percent, and Denmark had the highest at 81 percent. The United States had by far the lowest rate of HIV-positive people retained in care at 37 percent, with British Columbia the next lowest at 57 percent. Australia’s 76 percent care-retention rate was the highest. 

Because of the United States’ low retention figures, the remainder of the nation’s figures were also markedly lower than the other countries’. The U.S. rate of people with HIV taking antiretrovirals was 33 percent. The high for that figure was the United Kingdom’s 67 percent. The rates of viral suppression were as follows: the United States, 25 percent; British Columbia, 35 percent; France, 52 percent, the Netherlands, 53 percent, the United Kingdom, 58 percent; Denmark, 59 percent; and Australia, 62 percent.

To read the aidsmap story, click here.

To read the conference abstract, click here.

Health Alert – Syphilis infections among gay and bi men growing at an alarming rate

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The Allegheny County Health Department has documented an alarming, ongoing increase in Syphilis infections among men who have sex with men in the greater Pittsburgh area. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that, if untreated, can cause serious health problems. You can get Syphilis and not have any initial symptoms so the only way to know you’re infected is to get a simple blood test. Syphilis is 100% curable.

The Health Department suggests all sexually active gay and bi men get tested for Syphilis. To find free testing near you, go to https://gettested.cdc.gov/.

You can also call the Allegheny Health Department to find out more about getting a free test: (412) 578-8332.

___

To find out more about Syphilis go to the CDC Website at http://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/

To read the official Allegheny Health Department press release, Syphilis health alert November 17 2014.

The Body’s “10 Moments in HIV Empowerment in 2014″

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From TheBody.com…

logo_notopicsIt’s more than 30 years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and around 35 million people are living with HIV/AIDS,according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). About 50,000 new infections per year happen in the U.S. — and black and Latino Americans are disproportionately affected. Men who have sex with men — especially those of color — have among the highest infection rates across the globe.

The elusive search for a “cure” and a preventive vaccine may succeed one day — but unfortunately it may not be soon enough to help the millions of people living with HIV/AIDS today. But despite significant obstacles, there are some reasons for celebration this World AIDS Day. Here is our look at “10 Moments in HIV Empowerment in 2014.”

Read the 10 moments in HIV Empowerment on TheBody.com…

PrEP use rising in United States among men

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From aidsmap.com…

The number of people using Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the US is increasing and a growing proportion of users are men, according to an analysis of data from approximately half of American pharmacies presented this week at the HIV Drug Therapy Glasgow conference.

PrEP refers to the use of antiretroviral medications to prevent HIV infection. Gilead Sciences’ Truvada(tenofovir + emtricitabine) taken once daily was shown to be effective in the iPrEx study of mostly gay and bisexual men, reducing the risk of HIV infection by 42% overall, rising to 92% among participants with blood drug levels indicating regular use. A mathematical model suggested that taking Truvadafour times per week would provide 99% protection, and in an open-label extension of iPrEx none of the men who took Truvada at least this often became infected.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved once-daily Truvada for PrEP in July 2012. In May of this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that people at ‘substantial risk’ should consider PrEP to prevent HIV infection, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended PrEP as an option for at-risk gay men.

Yet uptake of Truvada PrEP has not been as widespread as many had hoped, facing barriers such as lack of awareness among people at risk for HIV, resistance from some medical providers and inconsistent insurance coverage.

Continue reading on aidsmap.com.

Gay dating apps pledge to do more to combat HIV stigma and promote testing

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From the Gay Star News online…

Representatives of seven of the most popular gay dating websites and apps have collaborated with leading US AIDScell phone organizations to discuss strategies to help promote HIV/STI testing and to reduce the stigma associated with HIV infection. The results of a San Francisco summit between representatives of the dating sites and health leaders – including San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research – have been published in a new report.

Across the US, around 20% of gay and bisexual men are estimated to be living with HIV, while some estimates indicate that 3 in 5 men now meet their partners online. The apps and websites that were able to attend the summit – which took place over two days in early September – included BarebackRT, Daddyhunt, Dudesnude, Gay.com, Grindr, PozPersonals, and SCRUFF. Three other apps were unable to attend the summit but have pledged their support.

Continue reading on Gay Star News.

Gay-rights organization endorses the use of a once-a-day pill to prevent HIV infection

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From ABC News online…

Some doctors have been reluctant to prescribe the drug, Truvada, on the premise that it might encourage high-risk, unprotected sexual behavior. However, its preventive use has been endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and many HIV/AIDS advocacy groups

The Human Rights Campaign, which recently has been focusing its gay-rights advocacy on same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination issues, joined those ranks with the release of a policy paper strongly supporting the preventive use of Truvada. It depicted the drug as “a critically important tool” in combatting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “HRC does not take this position lightly,” the policy paper said. “We recognize there is still ongoing debate … and that there are those out there who will disagree with our stance.”

Truvada has been around for a decade, serving as one of the key drugs used in combination with others as the basic treatment for people with HIV. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved it for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — in other words, for use to prevent people from getting sexually transmitted HIV in the first place. “Today, there is an unprecedented chance to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in part through PrEP’s aggressive prevention of new HIV infections,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “There is no reason — medical or otherwise — to discourage individuals from taking control of their sexual health and talking to their doctor about PrEP.”

The CDC says studies have shown that Truvada, when taken diligently, can reduce the risk of getting HIV by 90 percent or more. Research discussed at the International AIDS Conference in July found that use of the drug does not encourage risky sex and is effective even if people skip some doses.

As part of its announcement, the Human Rights Campaign called on insurers, regulators and Truvada’s manufacturer to take steps to reduce costs, raise public awareness, and make the option available to all medically qualified individuals who could benefit from it, regardless of ability to pay.

The cost of Truvada varies widely; a New York State Health Department fact sheet gives a range of $8,000 to $14,000 per year. The manufacturer, California-based Gilead Sciences Inc., has a program that provides assistance to some people who are eligible to use Truvada but cannot afford it.

The Human Rights Campaign urged all states to emulate Washington state, which implemented a program earlier this year offering assistance in paying for PrEP. The preventive option also was endorsed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he announced initiatives in June aimed at ending the state’s AIDS epidemic by 2020.

The HRC called on state insurance regulators to take action against any insurers who deny legitimate claims from patients who’ve been prescribed PrEP by their doctors.

A prominent provider of services to HIV-positive people, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, remains a vocal critic of the preventive use of Truvada. In an ad campaign launched in August, the foundation says many gay men fail to adhere to Truvada’s once-a-day regimen and describes government promotion of the drug as “a public health disaster in the making.”

Less than half of HIV-pos U.S. Hispanics getting proper care

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From U.S. News and World Report …

Even though Hispanics in the United States become infected with HIV at rates triple those of whites, less than half of Hispanics with the virus are receiving adequate treatment, a new report finds. The report, based on 2010 U.S. government health data, finds that while 80 percent of HIV-infected Hispanics do receive care soon after their diagnosis, only about 54 percent continue that care and only about 44 percent receive the virus-suppressing drugs they need to stay healthy.

The researchers, led by epidemiologist Zanetta Gant of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also found that only 37 percent of the more than 172,000 HIV-positive Hispanic adults in the United States have the virus under control. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. The findings “underscore the need for enhanced linkage to care, retention in care, and viral suppression for Hispanics or Latinos,” Gant’s team writes in the Oct. 10 issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Continue reading on U.S. News and World Report.

Find out why these gay and bi men have decided to go on PrEP

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From the Advocate online…

Despite recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and studies that indicate that PrEP can reduce HIV transmission by 96 and up to 99 percent, there are still relatively few gay and bisexual men on the drug.

It can be hard to find anyone among your friends to ask about it. And what makes a person decide they want to go on the once-daily pill varies a lot. The Advocate reached out to gay and bi men, as well as serodiscordant couples, who use the drug to hear their reasons. They offered advice for those on the fence about it. Read their stories in their own words.

The treatment cascade in the United States – good in Ryan White programmes, but overall picture for gay men is poor

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From aidsmap.com…

People living with HIV in the United States who receive their care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program have good rates of retention and virological suppression, investigators report in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Of the patients seen at least once in 2011, some 82% were retained in care and 73% achieved virological suppression.

These outcomes dwarf those seen for most people living with HIV in the US – previous reports have estimated that as few as 40% were retained in care and 19% had achieved virological suppression.

A second new report focuses on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, demonstrating that outcomes continue to be unacceptably poor in this group. Of those who have ever been diagnosed with HIV, 51% were retained in care and 42% achieved virological suppression.

However, both new studies found that outcomes were poorer in younger people, African American people and some other ethnic groups.

Continue reading on aidsmap.com

HIV pandemic’s roots traced back to 1920s Kinshasa

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Posted on Reuters...

Bustling transport networks, migrant labor and changes to the sex trade in early 20th-century Congo created a “perfect storm” that gave rise to an HIV pandemic that has now infected 75 million people worldwide, researchers said on Thursday. In an analysis of the genetic history of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, the scientists said the global pandemic almost certainly began its global spread in the 1920s in Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Here, a confluence of factors including urban growth, extensive railway links during Belgian colonial rule and changes in sexual behavior combined to see HIV emerge in Congo’s capital and spread across the globe. Oliver Pybus, a professor at Oxford University’s zoology department who co-led the research, said that until now most studies have taken a piecemeal approach to HIV’s genetic history and looked only at certain HIV genomes in particular locations. “For the first time, we have analyzed all the available evidence using the latest phylogeographic techniques, which enable us to statistically estimate where a virus comes from,” he said. “This means we can say with a high degree of certainty where and when the HIV pandemic originated.”

United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) data show that more than 35 million people worldwide are currently infected with HIV, and some 1.5 million people died of AIDS-related illness in 2013. Since the HIV/AIDS pandemic began, it has killed up to 40 million people worldwide. The disease is spread in blood, semen and breast milk. No cure exists, but AIDS can be kept at bay for many years in people with HIV who take cocktails of antiretroviral drugs.Various strains of HIV are known to have been transmitted from primates and apes to humans at least 13 times in history, but only one of those transmissions – of a strain known as HIV-1 Group M – led to the current human pandemic.

Pybus said the key questions centered on how this happened.”Why did most of (the HIV strains) die out, and why did some of them — like HIV-2 — go on to generate local epidemics in Africa, and why did only one go to become a global pandemic?” he said in a telephone interview. “To answer that, we needed to try to reconstruct the spread through space and time of the global pandemic strain.”

Pybus and an international team of researchers analyzed HIV-1 group M sequences from a major HIV sequence database and then combining these analyses with spatial and epidemiological data. Their study will be published in the journal “Science” on Thursday. Philippe Lemey, a professor at Belgium’s University of Leuven who worked on the study, explained that genetic analysis had helped establish the time and place of the pandemic’s origins. The team then compared that with historical data “and it became evident that the early spread of HIV-1 from Kinshasa to other population centers followed predictable patterns.”

A key factor, the analysis suggests, was the DRC’s transport networks, particularly its railways, which made Kinshasa one of the best-connected of all central African cities. “Data from colonial archives tells us that by the end of 1940s over one million people were traveling through Kinshasa on the railways each year,” said Nuno Faria of Oxford University, who also worked on the team. He said the genetic data showed that HIV rapidly spread across the DRC — a country the size of Western Europe — traveling with people along railways and waterways to reach Mbuji-Mayi and Lubumbashi in the extreme south and Kisangani in the far north between the end of the 1930s and early 1950s.

The team’s findings also suggest that along with transport, social changes such as the changing behavior of sex workers and public health initiatives against other diseases that led to the unsafe use of needles may have contributed to turning HIV into a full-blown epidemic. “We think it is likely that the social changes around the independence in 1960 saw the virus break out from small groups of infected people to infect the wider population and eventually the world,” said Faria.

Come out against stigma, live out proud

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by  – Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council

 

The fight against HIV/AIDS has always been about more than the search for medicine or a cure. It has been a battle for human dignity, to demonstrate that each life, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, or religion, has inherent value. From the beginning, this epidemic has taken the largest toll on our most marginalized communities. From gay men and transgender women to injection-drug users and people of color, those who are most often shut out of our nation’s halls of affluence and power are also the most vulnerable to a whole host of health challenges, including HIV.

A few days ago I had the honor of participating in a panel on HIV sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Caucus. During the event the always-inspiring Douglas Brooks, who is the first black gay man living with HIV to head the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, gave brief opening remarks in which he quoted the Bible, saying, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). As we once again marked National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (Sept. 27), this simple verse resonated with me in a powerful way and seemed to reflect the position that so many gay men, especially gay men living with HIV, find themselves in.

Continue reading on the Huffington Post.

Kaiser Family Foundation releases new alarming report reflecting gay and bisexual men’s attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with HIV/AIDS

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From Gay Men’s Health Crisis…

On Thursday, September 25, 2014, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a new alarming report reflecting gay and bisexual men’s attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with HIV/AIDS and new HIV therapies in the United States. Their survey on HIV/AIDS in the lives of gay and bisexual men in the United States reports that 56% of gay and bisexual men are not personally concerned about HIV or AIDS affecting them and 30% have never been tested for HIV.

“HIV/AIDS might not be a death sentence anymore, but there are still 50,000 new infections in the United States every year-and gay and bisexual men are still among those most at risk,” said GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie. ” The Kaiser Family Foundation study is a needed wake-up call that communicating the correct information about HIV and AIDS to the public has never been more critical. We must do more to educate our gay and bisexual men about how HIV and AIDS can affect them, and how life-saving medications like PrEP and PEP can help them prevent HIV infections and stay healthy.”

Additional Background:
Eight out ten gay and bisexual men surveyed also said that they have heard a little or nothing about PrEP, a life-saving medication that can prevent HIV-infections. Additional findings from the survey can be found here. The Foundation’s survey comes on the heels of a new CDC report showing that 58% of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV are not virally suppressed.

More than half of gay and bi men haven’t been asked by a doctor to take an HIV test

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Find free HIV testing locations near you by entering your zip code at http://hivtest.cdc.gov

Find free HIV testing locations near you by entering your zip code at http://hivtest.cdc.gov

From the New York Times…

Gay men and their doctors aren’t talking enough about sex, and that’s making it harder to control the spread of H.I.V.

That’s the conclusion of a new survey of gay and bisexual men by the Kaiser Family Foundation released on Thursday. It found that 47 percent of the men have never discussed their sexual orientation with their doctors, and 56 percent have never been advised by a doctor to be tested for H.I.V.

For decades we’ve been hearing that H.I.V. is not a gay disease, and that’s true globally, but it’s a misrepresentation of the epidemic in the United States. That misunderstanding can lead to a complacency that furthers its spread, public health officials warn. A majority of new infections occur among men who have sex with men. Kaiser estimates that 12 to 13 percent of gay and bisexual men in the United States are living with H.I.V., more than 20 times the rate among the general population.

“It’s in the highest bracket of prevalence that you see in some of the hardest-hit countries in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Jen Kates, Kaiser’s director of global health and H.I.V. policy. “It’s not that America shouldn’t care about H.I.V., but that gay and bisexual men should care more.”

Continue reading on the New York Times online.

HIV Treatment Works national communication campaign for people living with HIV

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he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) HIV Treatment Works national communication campaign for people living with HIV features the stories of individuals living with HIV talking about how sticking to treatment helps them stay healthy, protect others, do what they love, and live a longer, healthier life. Visit the campaign website for resources and free materials: http://www.cdc.gov/HIVTreatmentWorks. More than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV.

Health Alert for men in Pennsylvania – Syphilis on the rise again

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health in conjunction with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has documented an alarming increase in Syphilis cases, primarily among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Allegheny County. As of September 10, 2014, the ACHD has reported 67 cases of early Syphilis which now exceeds the total of 63 cases reported in all of 2013. Here is a breakdown of the data:
·       54% of the cases have been reported individuals under the age of 30
·       96% of the cases reported were male
·       75% of the male cases reported with MSM risk factors (had sex with other men)
·       39% of the male cases were co-infected with HIV
You can get Syphilis and not have any symptoms so the only way to know you’re infected is to get tested with a simple blood test.   And if you do have symptoms, note that Syphilis has any number of symptoms that can look like symptoms from other diseases. One example is a painless sore that you would get after you are first infected can be confused for an ingrown hair, zipper cut, or other seemingly harmless bump.  Another example is a rash over the body that can sometimes (but not always) involve the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. As a result of the uptick in Syphilis cases, we are recommending that all sexually active MSM get a Syphilis test. The PA Department of Health as well as the Centers for Disease Control recommend that all sexually active MSM receive full STD screening (including HIV) annually.  The Pitt Men’s Study offers testing for syphilis (as well as testing for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia) as part of your routine study visit.  Free testing is also available at the Allegheny County Department of Health.  

To find testing near you, check out the CDC testing database at http://hivtest.cdc.gov/

To find out more about Syphilis specifically, go to http://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis.htm

To subscribe to Pitt Men’s Study Health Alerts, send an email to rgy2@pitt.edu with the word “subscribe” in the subject line.

To find out more about Health Alerts, go to http://pittmensstudy.com/health-alerts/

County health officials get court order to stop HIV-infected man

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From the Seattle Times…

In a very unusual step, King County public-health officials have gone to court to try to stop a man with HIV who has infected eight partners in the past four years from infecting others.

“We’re not trying to criminalize sexual behavior here,” said Dr. Matthew Golden, director of Public Health — Seattle & King County’s HIV/STD Control Program. “We are trying to protect the public’s health. And we’re trying to make sure that everyone gets the care they need, including the person involved in this.”

The order, issued Sept. 4 by King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector, requires the man, identified only as “AO,” to follow a “cease-and-desist” order issued in late July by the public-health department requiring him to attend counseling and all treatment appointments made by public-health officials.

If he defies the court order, the judge could order escalating fines or even jail time.

“AO” tested positive at the Public Health STD Clinic at Harborview Medical Center in June 2008, where he was counseled to disclose his status to sex partners and how he should practice safe sex, according to papers filed in the court case.

Since then, despite having received HIV counseling at least five more times, he is believed to have infected eight adult partners from 2010 through this June. Public-health officials said in the court documents that eight people newly diagnosed with HIV had named AO as a partner with whom they’d had unprotected sex.

The officials in July and August served “AO” with “cease-and-desist” orders, the first specifying he attend counseling and the second adding the requirement he seek HIV treatment.

Continue reading on the Seattle Times online.

Hispanics make up 21 % of new HIV infections despite being 16 % of population

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From the Latin Post…

The Center for Disease Control rolled out a new campaign to target Hispanic and Latino communities in addressing HIV/AIDS, citing a high number of new infections each year. Annually, the CDC reports, 500,000 people become infected each year in the U.S., and the Hispanic and Latino population — which is 16 percent of the nation’s population — constitutes 21 percent of new infections.

Introducing their new campaign, accompanied with two videos highlighting the information, the CDC said, “We all have a role to play. We can stop HIV one conversation at a time. Together, all of our conversations can help protect the health of our community and reduce the spread of HIV. ” The “one conversation at a time” tagline is the being promoted ahead of the National Latinos AIDS Awareness Day, which coincides with the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, on Oct. 15.

The CDC said that 1 in 36 Hispanic/Latino men and 1 in 106 Hispanic/Latina women will be diagnosed with HIV at some point in their lives. “Because there is no single Latino culture, the factors driving the epidemic in this population are as diverse as the communities themselves,” the CDC said.

Despite prevention methods and measures, the Latinos continue to bear a heavier burden than most when it comes to HIV/AIDS. Where Latinos live also affects the numbers of infected men specifically. HIV diagnosis in the Northeast is more than twice that of any other region in the country, mostly from male-to-male sexual contact and intravenous drug use. In the South, those with HIV are more likely to have been affected by male-to-male sexual contact, according to the CDC.

One of the campaign videos by the CDC titled Sin Verguenza, or “Without Shame,” starts off like a soap opera — introducing the main characters, each with a somber face as their names flash across the screen. It is intended to engage the audience as the 8-minute video begins with an introduction to the fictional Salazar family. Once over, one of the characters comes into the camera frame and asks the audience if they can identify which of the family members may have HIV/AIDS.

This is the first installment in the campaign, which promises more episodes. “It may not always be easy to talk about HIV/AIDS, but we must talk openly about it to protect our community. By learning the facts about HIV and talking about ways to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community, we can help increase HIV awareness, decrease stigma and shame that are too often associated with HIV, and play a part in stopping HIV in the Hispanic/Latino community,” the CDC said.

 

‘A Day With HIV 2014’ addresses HIV stigma

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logoFrom the Huffington Post…

HIV stigma needs to be a thing of the past, and there’s an awesome way you can help change public perception.

For the fifth year in a row, Positively Aware and TPAN are sponsoring “A Day with HIV,” an HIV photo campaign. The initiative invites people from all around the world to take and submit a photo from their life at some point during the day on Sept. 9 in order to raise awareness about what it means to live in a world with HIV.

“A Day With HIV” provides a unique opportunity for individuals to make an impact through visual storytelling and contributing to breaking down stigma surrounding HIV.

This year, in an effort to extend its “A Day With HIV” virtual photo sharing initiative, Positively Aware and TPAN are working in partnership with Let’s Stop HIV Together, an HIV awareness and anti-stigma effort of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“With parallel goals aimed at raising general HIV awareness and addressing the often-associated stigma, it was really a natural fit for these two campaigns to join forces,” Jeff Berry, Editor of Positively Aware, said in a statement. “By coming together, we are building an even larger community of support and ensuring that we reach each and every corner of society, particularly those people who may not have otherwise experienced the power of the virtual campaign.”

For more information on where to submit your pictures head here. Participants are encouraged to take their photo on Sept. 9 and submit it to Positively Aware by Sept. 12.

Check out a slideshow of images from last year’s “A Day With HIV” on the Huffington Post.