November 17, 2015


 

 Messaiah Ramiskoon, an MC, youth advocate and three-time winner of "Showtime at the Apollo," comments on homophobia in Hip Hop at the Health and Hip Hop Conference at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md.

Morgan State University Hosts Health and Hip Hop Conference
In an effort to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS among young Black men, a group disproportionately impacted by the epidemic, health-care|more

 
   


  
Vernon Thomas



How things add up

December 1

Keeping active

Consumer Confusion Continues.
..
Recording and mixing music is Vernon Thomas' passion, but being CEO and producer of Mantree Records is not his day job. He's an HIV outreach worker for a local county health department outside Newark, N.J. 
He took what was to be a full-time|
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     



'Do The Math' When Shopping For A Health...
With the health insurance markets open for next year's enrollment, Eve Campeau says she's planning to look carefully at the fine print. Last time she shopped, she switched to a plan with a lower monthly premium, but found|




 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

World AIDS Day 2015: The Time to Act Is...
There is no better time than World AIDS Day to recommit ourselves to achieving an AIDS-free generation. This year, we will celebrate the tremendous progress we have made together in expanding|
               
 



 






 

 
 

Race Gap in Life Expectancy Is Narrowing
...
Black Americans are catching up to whites in life expectancy -- largely due to declining rates of death from heart disease, cancer and HIV, a new federal government study finds. Researchers said the study can only show | 


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.

Hepatitis
 
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - Confronting the consequences of high-priced drugs, the Obama administration Thursday pointedly reminded states that they cannot legally restrict access by low-income people to revolutionary cures for liver-wasting hepatitis C infection.
 
MSM
 
 
A considerable proportion of the cancer burden among HIV-positive Americans derives from infections, particularly among people in their 20s and men who have sex with men (MSM). Publishing their findings in the journal AIDS, researchers examined HIV and cancer registries to determine the rates of new cases of cancer that are associated with infections.
 
Science

 
HIV-positive women can safely use hormonal contraception, according to research published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Hormonal implants and injectable contraceptives were associated with a reduced mortality risk, and use of injectables delayed the need for antiretroviral therapy (ART). Pregnancy did not increase the risk of death or the need to start ART, while breastfeeding was protective against both these outcomes.
 
 
Given the advances of the last two decades, HIV is no longer a death sentence for most patients. However, for drug users and hepatitis C- (HCV) infected patients-especially cocaine users-HIV is still life threatening. This problem is being tackled by a team of experts lead by FIU Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work professor Marianna K. Baum.
 
Treatment
 
 
The US Food and Drug Administration have approved a new single tablet as a complete treatment for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in people aged 12 years and over.
 
 
The more than 300 transgender women in the pivotal iPrEx pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial had similar overall HIV infection rates whether they were randomised to take Truvada or placebo, but those with drug levels indicating consistent PrEP use appeared to be protected, researchers reported in the November 5 advance online edition of The Lancet.
 
Miscellaneous
 
 
Since its inception, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been a beacon of bipartisanship. Launched by President Bush in 2003, expanded by President Obama, and supported by substantial, bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress, PEPFAR has saved and improved millions of lives -- and helped to change the trajectory of the global HIV and AIDS response.
 
 
Yesterday, anti-police violence advocacy group Campaign Zero released a report that details which police departments are currently using body cameras and how they are-or aren't-creating an environment where accountability and transparency reign.

In This Issue
Phill Wilson
It's no secret that we have the tools to break the back of the AIDS epidemic in America. We've been talking about this for years now and with treatment as prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) we now more

EVENTS 

 
National Center for Innovation in HIV Care 2015 Webinars
   
November 18
2pm ET
Telemedicine: Trancending Barriers to Rural Health
Register here
 
December 3
2pm ET
ERH Solutions to Provide Great Care
Register here
 
December 10
1pm ET
Strong Commuities: Understanding Intersectionality and its Role in Access to and
Engagement in HIV Care
Register here
 
December 14
1pm ET
Implications of the Updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy for ASOs, CBOs, and
Health Centers
Register here
  

2015 National HIV Prevention Conference

December 6-9, 2015 
Atlanta, Georgia 
Hyatt Regency Atlanta & Atlanta Marriott Marquis


National PrEP Tour 2015 - 2016


Broward County, Fl
2/5/16

Charlotte/Rock Hill
2/23/16

Chicago, IL
11/18/15

Cincinnati, OH
TBD

Columbia, SC
2/16/16

Dallas, TX
1/27/16

Detroit, MI
TBD

Fort Lauderdale (Broward County)
2/5/16

Jackson, MS
12/3/15

Kansas City, MO
TBD

Little Rock, AR
TBD

Los Angeles, CA
2/11/16

Melbourne, FL
2/3/16

Miami, FL
TBD

Minneapolis, MN
11/5/2015

Miami, FL
TBD

Nashville, TN
TBD

New Orleans, LA
10/13/2015

Oakland, CA
11/17/15

Philadephia, PA
TBD

Richmond-Petersburg, VA
2/24/16

*Dates are subject to changeClick here for more info.

-----------------------------
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.