August 26, 2015




Garth Gerald, Programs Coordinator, Black AIDS Institute, and an African American HIV University Science and Treatment College graduate

Gerald Garth, Black AIDS Institute Programs Specialist...
If there is one thing Gerald Garth wants you to walk away with, it is that you can use whatever gifts and talents you were born with to fight HIV. An|more

 
   


  
Measles risk



Moving day

Insurance denied

Protesting
Large Percentage of Youth with...
Between one-third and one-half of individuals in the United States who were infected with HIV around the time of birth may not have sufficient immunity to ward off measles, mumps, and rubella-even though they may have been vaccinated |more 

 


HUD and Department of Labor Launch... 
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), has unveiled a|more 



 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Despite Obamacare Promise...
Transgender people are still fighting for access to crucial health services despite the Affordable Care Act's requirement that insurance companies not deny coverage based on gender or health history.
The issue stems from the|more 
 



 






 

 
 

The Interrupters...
As you've surely heard-and debated-Black Lives Matter (BLM) members have been disrupting presidential campaign rallies lately. Early this month, two in Seattle took over the mic at a Social Security-centered event that Sen. Bernie|more
  

 

 

 

 

 

 



   
 


WHAT WE'RE READING

A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

Science
 
 
There may be two new ways to fight AIDS-using a heat shock protein or a small molecule - to attack fibrils in semen associated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the initial phases of infection, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. HIV is most commonly transmitted between individuals in semen, the male reproductive fluid, which contains deposits of protein fragments called amyloid fibrils. These fibrils can increase the transmission of HIV by helping the virus attach to the membrane surrounding human cells. The scientists surmise that therapies that reduce the levels of amyloid fibrils in semen might be able to reduce the transmission of HIV.
 
Testing & Diagnostics
 
 
Now that Gilead Sciences has made large profits developing highly effective treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV), the pharmaceutical company has set its sights on curing two more viral epidemics-HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV), Bloomberg Business reports.
 
Treatment
 
 
Drug treatment advocates caution new program appears to prioritize law enforcement over medical treatment
 
 
Expected program in response to rising fatalities from drug use
 
Miscellaneous
 
 
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which has long waged a vociferous and largely isolated battle against Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), has finally begun to capitulate, offering measured support for the HIV prevention method. After publishing an error-ridden advertisement attacking PrEP in various gay newspapers across the country in June, AHF will release a new ad on August 19 in which the organization presents a series of guidelines for the use of PrEP.
 
 
If convicted, both could face up to life in prison.
 
 
Obamacare gives federal money to poor people to help them get health insurance. Scott Walker, Wisconsin's governor, has a replacement plan. It would give federal money to old people instead.
 
 
The Stonewall riots are recognized as a major turning point in LGBTQ activism, with people across the LGBTQ spectrum fighting for their survival against the brute force of the NYPD. In the 46 years since that moment, however, the mainstream gay rights movement has been accused of moving towards a white, middle-class normativity while the struggles of queer people of color go largely unrecognized. 
 
Back-to-school season is here, and John Oliver of HBO's Last Week Tonight recorded a must-see segment on the sorry state of sex education in America.
 
 
"Raffi Freedman-Gurspan demonstrates the kind of leadership this Administration champions."

In This Issue
Phill Wilson
Continuing our series of profiles about the people behind the changes at the Black AIDS Institute, today we speak with Gerald Garth, a graduate of the African American HIV University (AAHU) who has advanced from|more 
 
EVENTS 

September 8
BTAN National Meeting at USCA
Register here

 
September 9
BTAN Black PrEP Summit at USCA
Register here

September 10 - 13 
U.S. Conference on AIDS
Washington, DC 
 
 
For more information on events 
contact Gerald Garth at
or visit 

BLACK AIDS
WEEKLY

PHILL WILSON 

Publisher

 

HILARY BEARD 

Editor-in-Chief

 

TERESA RIDLEY 

Copy Editor

 

LASHIEKA P. HUNTER 

Media and Public Relations Consultant


Founded in May of 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute's Mission is to stop the AIDS pandemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. The Institute interprets public and private sector HIV policies, conducts trainings, offers technical assistance, disseminates information and provides advocacy mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.

Support the Black Aids Institute through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC# 12320). The Institute holds the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence for meeting the highest standards of public accountability.