World AIDS Day 2008

J's Theater has a number of great links to people thinking, writing, postulating about the history of the AIDS epidemic and where we are now.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is "Leadership" which is being forwarded by continuing the call to "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."

Also, NPR has featured a number of stories on the subject:

• AIDS Epidemic Grows Among Children
• Battling Pediatric AIDS, Saving Lives in Africa

• Many Americans With HIV Don't Know They Have It

There was also an interesting series of stories about the complexities of setting up a sustainable infrastructure for the delivery of Anti-RetroViral medications to patients on the African continent.

Update : December 2, 2008

Today I was checking out one of my fav bloggers Tayari Jones site. Recent United States Artist Foundation Awardee (Congratulations Ms. Jones!), and birthday celebrant (again: Congratulations, 38 is looking good on you!) posted about World AIDS Day and linked to some good stuff, including a post from one of my other fav bloggers, Reggie H. But most important was the title of the post: "World AIDS Day. Get Tested. I Did."

I sometimes forget how important it is to say this. Not the "get tested" part, but the "I did."

So let me add my voice to the chorus of folks of African descent encouraging others to take care of their health: Get Tested. I Did.

In response to the question Jones herself poses on her site, why did I get I get tested, I can second Ms. Jones' response: "Why? Because I needed to know, just like you need to know." That's the truth folks. Most African Americans get diagnosed with full-blown AIDS, not HIV which means they get often get diagnosed after they're already an an acute stage of illness. Full-blown AIDS has fewer treatment options, can necessitate more extreme intervention, and has a shorter life-expectancy than HIV. Also with diagnosis and effective treatment at the HIV stage, the advancement to AIDS and serious opportunistic infections and illness can be delayed considerably. So at the risk of sounding like a parrot on Ms. Jones shoulder, "find a testing site near you" and get tested. This is not a situation where no news is good news, folks. Along with getting tested find out about how best to protect yourself from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

• Scarleteen: sex education for teenagers, young adults, parents and their allies; now celebrating their 10th Anniversary providing "Sex Education for the Real World."
• San Francisco Sex Information (SFSI): providing "free, confidential, accurate, non-judgemental information about sex" since 1972. Accessible via phone or email.
• American Social Health Association (ASHA): "The American Social Health Association is a trusted, non-profit organization that has advocated on behalf of patients to help improve public health outcomes since 1914. We are America's authority for sexually transmitted disease information."
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National STD-AIDS Hotline
Hours: 24 hours
(800) 342-2437 (English & Spanish)


Some additional thoughts....
• From Susan Campbell's brief commentary in the Hartford Connecticut Courant:

"Today, on World AIDS Day, remember the 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Remember also that in this country, AIDS is the number one killer of African American women between the ages of 25 and 34.

"And remember the HIV rate in our nation's capital rivals that of sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 20.

"More here."

• The "here" referenced by Campbell is an August 2008 report from the Black AIDS Institute a national non-profit policy center located in Los Angeles, California. Some excerpts from the report:

"The number of people living with HIV in Black America exceeds the HIV populations in seven of the 15 focus countries of the U.S. government’s PEPFAR [The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] initiative. Many of the factors that make HIV so challenging in other countries are the same ones that drive the epidemic in Black America."(p.5)

"If Black America was a country, its AIDS epidemic would be nearly the size of the AIDS
epidemic in Côte d’Ivoire."(p.6)

"If Black America was a country, its economy would be almost as large as that of South Africa."(p.9)

"If Black America were a country, it would have about the same population as New York, Massachuetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and
Maine combined."(p.18)

"Representing about one in eight Americans, Blacks account for one in every two people living with HIV in the U.S., and notwithstanding extraordinary improvements in HIV treatment, AIDS remains the leading cause of death among Black women between 25-34 years of age and the second leading cause of death in Black men between 35-44 years of age." (p.11)

"Global AIDS leaders should break the silence on AIDS in Black America. Although the U.S. government should be lauded for its landmark PEPFAR initiative, it should also be held accountable for its failure to address the epidemic within its borders. The fact that the U.S. is one of about 40 countries that failed to submit national AIDS progress reports to UNAIDS in 2008 is telling."(13)

You'll note AIDS/HIV is still an issue in Latina/o communities and white/European American communities as well. Here's a chart from the CDC for 2006 numbers (the available rates as of June 10, 2008). The CDC Fact sheet for "HIV/AIDS Among African Americans" was revised August, 2008. See Endnote for rates among other ethnic groups.




One of the concluding messages of the report is a call to action, see below:











Endnote:
• AFP coverage: "South African observes silence for World AIDS Day"
• MSNBC story "New hope on AIDS in Africa" includes profile of Cape Town Fertility Clinic, and "Access to Life a multimedia project funded by The Global Fund to document efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in nine nations."
• CDC Factsheets revised August 2008: HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders ,
• National HIV/AIDS Hispanic/Latino Response: Presentation from the 2008 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit, includes CDC statistics.
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV/AIDS webpage