SEE ALSO:

Will Smith Slaps Reporter

NYPD Says ‘Stop And Frisk’ Works

But not too long after he made his announcement, the world focused its eyes on another face: a sweet, 7-year-old girl who had a hard time dealing with her HIV-positive status.

During a taping of a Nickelodeon AIDS Special that focused on informing youth that the virus can affect anyone, Hydeia Broadbent sat bravely near Johnson among a group of younger children sharing how hard it was for her to deal with negative perceptions of the virus and the teasing she experienced over it. But then she broke down and, fighting through her tears, told him, “I want people to know that we’re just normal people.”

Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook!

He put his massive hand on her tiny shoulder and told her, “Aww, you don’t have to cry. Because we are normal people. OK? We are.”

SEE ALSO: GOP Planning To Evoke Jeremiah Wright In 2012 Election

Now, some 20 years later, Hydeia and Magic continue to be very powerful voices for people living with HIV, CNN reports. Magic became infected because he had unprotected sex. And Hydeia became a victim of the virus through her drug-using mother. Both reunited back in March during a Los Angeles screening of “The Announcement,” a documentary about the NBA legend coming forward about his HIV status. Hydeia’s tearful moment during the Nickelodeon special was replayed during the documentary.

WATCH Magic And Hydeia Talk About HIV 20 Years Ago (Timed at 8:22 in clip)

Magic recalls their first meeting some 20 years ago as a moment that further focused his commitment to HIV/AIDS awareness :

“Hydeia means the world to me,” Johnson said. “When I first met her 20 years ago and saw how emotional and devastated she was by the treatment she was getting from other people, it just broke my heart into pieces.

“That very moment was both sad and inspirational. It made me want to do more to bring awareness to the disease and educate people so that no one would have to feel the way she did that day.”

Hydeia, now 27, continues to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. In addition to delivering lectures at universities and giving speeches at conferences, she says she is very straightforward when informing young people about how difficult it is to be HIV-positive. Hydeia says she is particularly troubled with today’s younger generation who she feels under-estimates the realities of being HIV-positive.

“I try to tell it as real as I can, that this isn’t a disease they want,” she said. “The current generation, they don’t know the reality of HIV/AIDS. They look at me and Magic Johnson and think you can pop a pill and be OK. They don’t know the seriousness of the disease. They don’t know the side effects of the medicine. They don’t know the financial realities of the situation.

“They really don’t know that you can die.”

Today, African-Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Blacks account for just 14 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for 44 percent of new HIV infections in 2009. Gay Black men are especially affected. Between 2006-2009, gay men accounted for more than 48 percent of new HIV infections. In 2009, 30 percent of Black women accounted for HIV infections among all Blacks. More than 85 percent of Black women acquired HIV through heterosexual sex.

While those living with HIV/AIDS no longer have to endure the same level of ignorance now as Magic and Hydeia had to deal with more than 20 years ago, numbers provided by the CDC clearly reveal that our community has work even harder to educate each other about HIV.

Hopefully, 20 years from now, neither Blacks nor any any other race of people will have to deal with the ugliness of this horrible virus that brought then seven-year-old Hydeia to tears.

SEE ALSO: Black Notables For Marriage Equality

The 17 members of the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously that the benefits of the OraQuick HIV test outweigh its potential risks for consumers. While the test, which uses a mouth swab to return a result in 20 minutes, does not appear to be as accurate as professionally-administered diagnostics, panelists said it could provide an important way to expand HIV testing.

LIKE NewsOne On Facebook To Stay Up On Black News Worldwide!

The FDA will make its final decision on whether to approve the product later this year, weighing the opinion of the panel.

Government officials estimate one-fifth, or about 240,000 people, of the 1.2 million HIV carriers in the U.S. are not aware they are infected. Testing is one of the chief means of slowing new infections, which have held steady at about 50,000 per year for two decades.

Based in Bethlehem, Pa., Orasure has marketed a version of OraQuick to doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners since 2004. When used by professionals, the test is shown to accurately identify both carriers and non-carriers 99 percent of the time.

But a trial conducted by the company showed the home test only correctly detected HIV in those carrying the virus 93 percent of the time. The FDA estimated the test would miss about 3,800 HIV-positive people per year, while correctly identifying 45,000, if approved for U.S. consumers. The test could prevent 4,000 new transmissions of the virus annually, though the figure could vary depending on how many people purchase the test. While it’s not clear why the test was less accurate in consumer trials, company researchers said they expected the test’s sensitivity to drop when used by consumers versus professionals.

Panelists stressed that the test’s labeling should state that a negative reading does not automatically mean the person does not have HIV, because of imperfect results. Panelists also stressed the importance of a toll-free number to put those who test positive in touch with counseling and medical care.

Despite concerns about less-than-perfect use by the public, the panel overwhelmingly sided with more than two dozen HIV advocates and doctors, who said the test represents a step forward in combating the virus.

“Over-the-counter testing has the potential to reach a far greater number of people who want to know their HIV status on their own terms,” said Tom Donohue, founder of HIV awareness group Who’s Positive.

“We are always looking for game changers, and we believe this is one of them,” said Carl Schmid, deputy director of the AIDS Institute. “Not only will it help reduce the number of infections but it will bring more people into care and treatment.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the second time in less than a week that FDA advisers recommended approval of a novel medical product to slow the spread of HIV. Last Thursday a similar panel of drug experts endorsed the HIV daily pill Truvada for preventive use. If FDA follows the group’s advice, the daily medication will become the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus.

The FDA has already approved other HIV test kits designed to be used at home, although those kits – which require a blood sample – must be sent to a laboratory for development. Orasure executives argue that a test that can be done at home will appeal to a much broader group of people.

FDA officials said it is impossible to predict how widely the test would be used, but it would be most effective in the hands of people at high risk of acquiring the virus, including men who have sex with men.

A recent survey of gay and bisexual men cited by public health officials found that 84 percent would test themselves more frequently if they could buy an over-the-counter HIV test.

Orasure sells its professional version of the test for $17.50, though company executives declined to discuss how they would price the consumer version.

SEE ALSO:

Why Black Christian Voters Need To Get Over Same-Sex Marriage

Is It OK For Cops To Taser Pregnant Women?

SEE ALSO: Biden Apologized To Obama On Gay Marriage
In a series of votes, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel’s advice, though it usually does. A final decision is expected by June 15.

Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City, Calif., has marketed Truvada since 2004 as a treatment for people who are infected with the virus. The medication is a combination of two older HIV drugs, Emtriva and Viread. Doctors usually prescribe it as part of a drug cocktail to repress the virus.

While panelists ultimately backed Truvada for prevention, Thursday’s 12-hour meeting highlighted a number of concerns created by the first drug to prevent HIV. In particular, the panel debated whether Truvada might lead to reduced use of condoms, the most reliable defense against HIV. The experts also questioned the drug’s effectiveness in women, who have shown much lower rates of protection in studies.

Panelists struggled to outline steps that would ensure patients take the pill every day. In clinical trials, patients who didn’t take their medication diligently were not protected, and patients in the real world are even more likely to forget than those in studies.

“The trouble is adherence, but I don’t think it’s our charge to judge whether people will take the medicine,” said Dr. Tom Giordano of Baylor College of Medicine, who voted in favor of the drug. “I think our charge is to judge whether it works when it’s taken and whether the risks outweigh the benefits.”

Panelists stressed that people should be tested to make sure they don’t have HIV before starting therapy with Truvada. Patients who already have the virus and begin taking Truvada could develop a resistance to the drug, making their disease even more difficult to treat. The experts grappled with how to protect patients while avoiding hurdles that could discourage them from seeking treatment.

“If we put up too many hoops to jump through, there will be people who don’t make it through those hoops,” said Daniel Raymond, the panel’s patient representative.

Truvada first made headlines in 2010, when government researchers showed it could prevent people from contracting HIV. A three-year study found that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 percent, when accompanied by condoms and counseling. Last year another study found that Truvada reduced infection by 75 percent in heterosexual couples in which one partner was infected with HIV and the other was not.

Because Truvada is on the market to manage HIV, some doctors already prescribe it as a preventive measure. FDA approval would allow Gilead Sciences to formally market its drug for that use.

But Truvada’s groundbreaking preventive ability has exposed stark disagreements on prevention among those in the HIV community. While Truvada’s supporters say the drug is an important new option, critics worry that the drug could give users a false sense of security, and encourage risky behavior.

During the meeting’s public comment period, FDA panelists heard from more than two dozen doctors, nurses and patients who said patients would not take the drug as recommended – every day, in addition to using condoms.

“Truvada needs to be taken every day, 100 percent of the time, and my experience as a registered nurse tells me that won’t happen,” Karen Haughey told the panel. “In my eight years, not one patient that I’ve cared for has been 100 percent adherent.”

Other speakers worried that wide scale use of Truvada would divert limited funding from more cost-effective options. Truvada sells for about $900 a month, or just under $11,000 per year. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which opposes approval of Truvada, estimates that 20 HIV-positive patients could be treated for the cost of treating one patient with preventive Truvada.

“Truvada for prevention will squeeze already-constrained health care resources that can be better spent on cheaper and more effective prevention therapies,” the group states in a petition to the FDA.

The FDA is legally barred from considering cost when reviewing drugs. Medicare and Medicaid, the nation’s largest health insurance plans, generally cover all drugs approved by the FDA and many large insurers take their cues for coverage from the government plans.

An estimated 1.2 million Americans have HIV, which develops into AIDS unless treated with antiviral drugs. AIDS causes the body’s immune system to breakdown, leading to infections which are eventually fatal. Gay and bisexual men account for the majority of cases – nearly two-thirds.

The number of new HIV infections in the U.S. has held steady for 15 years at about 50,000 per year. But with no vaccine in sight and an estimated 240,000 HIV carriers unaware of their status, doctors and patients say new methods are needed to fight the spread of the virus.

Nick Literski, a federal worker in Seattle, has been taking Truvada for HIV prevention for more than a year. His partner is HIV-infected and his doctor prescribes the drug as a precautionary measure, even though it is not yet FDA-approved for that use. Literski pays a $40 monthly co-pay for the once-daily pill.

FDA approval of the drug for prevention would be “a huge step forward” in the fight against AIDS, he said in an interview Thursday. But he said rejection would be devastating, threatening gay relationships like his that involve one partner who is HIV infected and one who isn’t.

“Many HIV-positive men end up ending their relationships with HIV-negative men out of fear of infecting their partner,” Literski said, and he worried about that happening to him before he started using Truvada.

SEE ALSO:

NBA’s Birdman Probed For Online Crimes Against Kids

Student Losing Hands To Flesh-Eating Infection

SEE ALSO: Tackling The Black Obesity Crisis

The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss whether Truvada should be approved for people who are at risks of contracting HIV through sexual intercourse. The agency’s positive review posted Tuesday suggests the daily pill will become the first drug approved to prevent HIV infection in high-risk patients.

LIKE NewsOne On Facebook To Stay Up On Black News Worldwide!

FDA reviewers conclude that taking Truvada pre-emptively could spare patients “infection with a serious and life-threatening illness that requires lifelong treatment.”

Despite the positive results, reviewers said that patients must be diligent about taking the pill every day. Adherence to the medication was less than perfect in clinical trials, and reviewers said that patients in the real world may forget to take their medication even more than those in clinical studies.

First announced in 2010, Truvada’s preventive ability was hailed as a breakthrough in the 30-year campaign against the AIDS epidemic. A three-year study found that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 44 percent, when accompanied by condoms and counseling. Another study found that Truvada reduced infection by 75 percent in heterosexual couples in which one partner was HIV infected and the other was not.

The FDA’s panel of advisers will take separate votes on whether Truvada should be approved for:

- gay and bisexual men

- men or women in relationships with HIV-positive partners

- other people at risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does.

An estimated 1.2 million Americans have HIV, which overwhelmingly affects men who have sex with other men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV attacks the immune system and, unless treated with antiviral drugs, develops into AIDS, a fatal condition in which the body cannot fight off foreign infections.

Because Truvada is already on the market to manage HIV, some doctors currently prescribe it as a preventive measure. FDA approval would allow the drugmaker Gilead Sciences to formally market its drug for the new use.

But support for FDA approval is not unanimous. Some researchers stress that condoms remain the best weapon against AIDS, and a prevention pill is not the chemical equivalent.

“We know that if the person doesn’t take the medication every day they will not be protected,” said Dr. Rodney Wright, director of HIV programs at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “So the concern is that there may not be adequate adherence to provide protection in the general population.”

Wright, who is also chairman of the AIDS Health Foundation, added that some upcoming medications may be more effective at preventing infection than Truvada.

Researchers also worry about Truvada’s mixed success rate in preventing infection among women. Last year a study in women was stopped early after researchers found that women taking the drug were more likely to become infected than those taking placebo. Researchers speculated that women may need a higher dose of the drug to prevent infection. They also said the disappointing results may have resulted from women not taking the pills consistently.

Still, many HIV patient advocacy groups say the drug should be a prescribing option to prevent HIV, alongside condoms, counseling and other measures.

“If we’re going to reduce the more than 50,000 new HIV infections in this country each year, we need to increase the available options for people,” said Ronald Johnson, vice president of AIDS United. He added that more studies are needed to determine the drug’s effectiveness in women and other patient subgroups.

“The current state of the data warrants going forward, but we believe additional clinical trials should also go forward to broaden the use of Truvada.”

Last month, AIDS United and more than a dozen other advocacy groups sent a letter to the FDA, urging approval of Truvada.

Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences Inc. has marketed Truvada since 2004. The drug is a combination of two older HIV drugs, Emtriva and Viread. Doctors usually prescribe the medications as part of a drug cocktail that makes it harder for the virus to reproduce. Patients with low viral levels are far less likely to develop AIDS.

Side effects with Truvada include diarrhea, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. More serious problems can include liver toxicity, kidney problems and bone thinning.

Company shares fell 56 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $49.34

SEE ALSO:

Barack Obama’s Young Life, Relationships Revealed In Biography

Man Accused Of Having Sex With Girlfriend’s Dog

See Also: Should Pres. Obama Break his Silence on Gay Marriage?

The effort is supported by organizations such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Although STD awareness is the main aim of the campaign, the push for HIV testing has also become part of the growing conversation.

MTV has sustained a strong commitment to challenging the stigma that prevents countless young people from getting tested for STDs and HIV,” said Jason Rzepka, Vice President of MTV Public Affairs, via press release. “We’re proud that GYT has helped drive notable increases in STD testing, but there’s no finish line in this race, and we will continue to do all we can to help our audience make responsible decisions about their sexual health.”

Sobering numbers from the CDC say that youth ages 15-24 account for nearly half of all new STD cases in the United States. Recent reports from the CDC say that Blacks and Hispanics contract STDs at a significantly higher rate than their white counterparts. One of GYT’s top objectives is to arm young people with the knowledge they need to combat the alarming number of infections.

When it comes to STDs, many of those at risk don’t know it or assume they would know if they had one,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Health Communication & Media Partnerships Program. “Through a combination of on-air, online, and on-the-ground messages, GYT is working to increase knowledge and remove the stigma of STD testing.”

For more information on the “GYT: Get Yourself Tested Campaign,” click here.

See Also:

Are You Supporting ‘Stand Your Ground’ And Voter Suppression?

Obese? Chance of Birthing Autistic Kid Jumps 67%

Magic and Cookie Johnson reflect on that faithful November day in 1991 when Magic revealed to her that he had contracted HIV. Rumor has it that Cookie smacked him when he told her. She remembers it more as a ‘love tap.’

SEE ALSO:

Penn State Student Tap Dance On Subway To Pay Tuition [VIDEO]

George Clooney Presses Obama On Sudan Crisis

SEE ALSO: Teacher Sued For Ordering Girl To Pee In Bucket

Mohammed Lukema, the headmaster of Kibaha Primary School in the country’s largest city Dar es Salaam, claimed that some parents requested that infected students wear the red ribbons so that school officials know who aren’t able to do certain tasks such as sweeping or carrying water that may affect their health.

‘LIKE’ NewsOne’s FB Page To Stay Up On Black News From Around The World

Lukema told the BBC:

“Our school has pupils who are suffering from various diseases. The school and the society at large have decided to label pupils’ uniforms…In our school we put a red label on the pupils’ collars to identify them.”

However, activists warned that revealing someone’s HIV status without their consent is illegal and carries stiff jail sentences of up to three years for those found guilty of “outing” a person’s condition.

Since about 5% of the population, or about 1.4m people, in the East African nation are living with HIV, such stigmatization could have untold effects on those infected. There are about 200,000 under the age of 15 who are living with HIV/AIDS.

There are at least seven schools in Dar es Salaam that have implemented the labeling system.

Rebecca Mshumbusi, chairperson of the Kibaha Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, is angered by the unethical practice. She told the BBC:

“The information of one’s sickness is confidential unless if one decides to share it with others. There are laws that can punish those revealing other’s health status.”

Jane Tibihita, a co-ordinator of Upendo Partnership, a local campaign group added that there have been few initiatives to educate people about the consequences of stigmatizing those with HIV.

“They are only dealing with infection and prevention of the disease. Now, the HIV and Aids Prevention and Control Act allows one with concrete evidence to be taken to court on the grounds of stigmatization and one can be sentenced for up to three years.”

The country’s health minister has said that he won’t comment until an investigation has been completed.

Still, one only has to look back at history to see other examples of similar labeling efforts. In Nazi concentration camps, there was a well-documented system of badges that prisoners were forced to wear. Those who were branded as homosexual had to wear an inverted pink triangle while Jewish students were forced to don a yellow star of David.

Tanzania school officials may be operating on a slippery slope of discrimination.

SEE ALSO:

19 Retail FAILS/Wins (PHOTOS)

Shala Monroque, “It” Girl & Fashion Industry Muse

Brett Johnson is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based writer and the founder of the music and culture blog VeryArtistical.com.

Start Gallery

SEE ALSO: Anti-Kony Charity Slammed For Spending Habits, Gun Pic

“I want Black women to know they are worthy. They deserve good health to protect their bodies. We have the right to be healthy and protect our bodies. We have a right to get the facts,” Cleveland said in an interview.

Given the statistics surrounding women and HIV/AIDS, it’s a right that every woman, particularly African-American women, should exercise immediately.

More than 290,000 women in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS. Studies show that women tend to face greater gaps when it comes to accessing care. For Black women, the figures are even more depressing. One in 32 Black women will contract HIV/AIDS in their lifetime. Black women currently make up 60 percent of new infections and 13 percent of the total AIDS epidemic.

Even more startling is that heterosexual Black women have the second highest rate of new infections behind only gay and bisexual men. They contract the disease at 15 times the rate of white women, “Oftentimes, many Black women underestimate their risk. They engage in high-risk behavior but don’t realize their risk,” said Cleveland.

Some of the factors increasing the HIV/AIDS risk for Black women include lack of access to health care and the inability to sometimes negotiate safer sex because of financial dependence on a sexual partner. In addition, because Black men have higher rates of incarceration, which can lead to concurrent relationships and the higher prevalence of AIDS in the Black community, the chances of infection are higher with each sexual encounter.

“And then there is basic stigma, fear, and misinformation,” Cleveland said of Black women’s increased risk. “It’s complex and there are a myriad of factors.”

One factor the CDC is trying to emphasize for National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day is the importance of getting tested and knowing ones’ HIV/AIDS status. In conjunction with National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day, the CDC has also launched Take Charge Take the Test, aimed to get Black women ages 18 to 34 in 10 cities with large Black populations, such as Memphis and Newark, to get tested to learn their status.

“In the fight against HIV nothing is more critical than getting tested. Knowing whether you are positive or negative can save your life,” said Cleveland. “If you are negative, there’s a peace of mind and you can focus on staying HIV-free. If they are positive, they can get the care they need and protect their health. I can’t say enough how critical it is to know their status.”

And reaching women may be the key to stopping this epidemic in the Black community.

“If we reach women we know impact families. It really takes all of us to end the epidemic,” said Cleveland.

“We’ve got to get to talking as women with our daughters, sisters and mothers about knowing our status and protecting our health. We have to know our partners’ status and insist on safe sex to protect our health. We have to speak out against the stigma and the fear. As a nation, we have to tackle the complex social and environmental issues that place African-American women at greater risk,” Cleveland added.

For more information on getting tested, go to www.HIVtest.org or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

SEE ALSO:

Tom Hanks Narrates Obama Campaign Film

Unemployment Steady At 8.3%

Let’s talk about the serious subject of HIV/AIDS in our community, and especially what is happening on HBCU campuses.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, college students account for about 55 percent of all HIV infections among those ages 13 to 24. Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute; actresses Sheryl Lee Ralph and Vanessa Williams, both long-time HIV activists joined Roland Martin on Washington Watch to discuss how to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Tuesday of this past week marked National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. On the “Tom Joyner Morning Show,” I talked to Phil Wilson, the president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute. Phil and I go way back, because I’ve helped them on many issues when it comes to this story, even moderating various events.

Why is it important for us to focus on this? Because the reality is AIDS — the face of AIDS is now that of a Black, heterosexual woman. But one of the things that we talked about on the show is what is happening on HBCU campuses all across this country. A couple of years ago, the CDC released a study that showed an alarming rate of AIDS infections on HBCU campuses, especially in the South.

African-Americans cannot be quiet about this, because what is happening is you’re seeing far too many young people dying at early ages as a result of HIV/AIDS in this country. We’re not getting tested. We don’t know our status. And then also, we’re not getting treatment. What is important for all of us — whether you are straight, whether you are gay, whether you’re in the Church, whether you’re in the home — is to not sit here and act like this doesn’t exist. Folks, this is not the 1980s. This is not a question of what is happening when it comes to White, gay men. What is happening is we are seeing women, we’re seeing young men, we’re seeing people, we’re seeing senior citizens who are contracting AIDS, and it’s a result of people not having the education.

And so what is important for you [is] to make sure that you get tested and know your status and be willing to ask your sons and your daughters and your aunts and uncles have they been tested. This is a 100 percent preventable disease. The question is, are we going to stand up and hold ourselves and each other accountable?

AIDS Day for African-Americans was Tuesday. That’s one day. It should be, for us, every day.

That’s my perspective. What’s yours?

HIV/AIDS remains one of the most-harrowing global crises of present times, with entire nations doing their best to combat the spread of the disease.

SEE ALSO: HIV/AIDS In America: Black AIDS Institute Is Winning The War

According to UNAIDS, the highest number of persons living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean was captured on the island of Hispaniola, with 120,000 known cases in Haiti and 62,000 reported in the Dominican Republic.

UNAIDS asserts that much of the spread of disease in the region has been transmitted as a result of unprotected prostitution between men and women, although men having sex with men has also contributed to the numbers.

American anthropologist and Harvard Medical School professor Paul Farmer has written several works associated with HIV/AIDS, including the popular “AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame.” As one of the first doctors to discover the earliest cases of AIDS in Haiti, Farmer was privy to a perspective that the outside world wasn’t.

While Haiti was blamed for the AIDS epidemic, Farmer would learn firsthand that much of Haiti’s infamy was overstated. Due to Farmer’s hands-on exposure and academic expertise, he was able to conclude that Haiti’s pandemic flourished as a result of poverty, globalization, illness, and the country’s dependency on industry outside its reach. Farmer further expounds on this theory in another book, entitled “Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues.”

With females living with HIV/AIDS making up 59 percent of the cases in Belize, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, HIV numbers continue to be the highest between men who have sex with men. The spike in female numbers point to sex workers and unprotected sex, which is added to the number of new infections.

Drug use in Jamaica and a spike of numbers of infected prisoners, especially in St. Lucia and Guyana, also play their part in bumping up the number of cases. The UNAIDS report supports Farmer’s theories about poverty being linked to citizens receiving the necessary care in the prevention of spreading HIV/AIDS. In poorer regions in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, AIDS numbers tended to trend higher.

In order to assist in the prevention and care of persons living with HIV/AIDS, $1.3 billion has been donated to the cause. Global donors, such as the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S.-sponsored President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has provided support to the region and its countries. While funds and donations have poured in, UNAIDS still states that not enough is being spent on prevention, although numbers have shown nominal improvement.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake disaster has also compounded HIV/AIDS problem, as workers have had to contend with the country’s 1.3-million misplaced citizens and the social ills that residents who lived in temporary camps faced. Rape, sexual assault, and unprotected sex were issues that plagued the campsites, and a lack of law enforcement and other lacking safeguards left many vulnerable.

Organizations and countries looking to eliminate the pandemic are focusing their efforts on prevention, obtaining adequate funding, at-risk populations, bridging gaps of spread between populations, and reaching out via sound political leadership. Smaller organizations are formulating their own response to the epidemic, with group Code Red, taking a feminist stand by focusing on sex work, sexual education, and health.

While the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the fight against the disease seemingly has a primary focus on Africa and the United States, those who are concerned with the plight of the Caribbean nations dealing with this crisis need to get more involved. It is apparent that the island paradises that are enjoyed by foreign visitors the world over should get more than what they’ve been presented with thus far.

SEE ALSO:

In Africa, Soccer Star Helps Break Down AIDS Taboo

RELATED: In America, Black AIDS Institute Is Winning The War

But what you may not know about Africa is that the number of people newly infected with HIV in 2009 fell from 2.2 million to 1.8 million, according to recent statistics published by United Nations AIDS. Moreover, the continent has many activists from all walks of life who are helping their countries fight stereotypes and taboos about the disease.

One of the most-prominent activists is soccer star Samual Eto’o (pictured) of Cameroon. He heads the 2012 African World Cup campaign “CAN Without AIDS,” which uses soccer (or football for those outside of the United States) as a platform to raise AIDS and HIV awareness among Africans across the continent. Check out one of his ads below.

Samual Eto’o Campaign Ad

Recently, Eto’o held a press conference in Libreville, capital of Gabon, where he challenged his fellow Africans to take control of themselves so that they and the continent could better take on HIV/AIDS, according to goal.com.

Eto’o called on African youths to shun ‘destructive pleasures of the moment’ and focus on their future, as he did by modelling himself on compatriot Roger Milla during his early days.

We are using football to convey this message because Africans love football and it has become a gathering point. We want to bring this as an alert that HIV-Aids is not only a threat to the sport in Africa but a danger for the youths and development on the continent, Eto’o said.

That soccer is being used to promote this message shouldn’t be surprising. South Africa hosted a very successful 2010 World Cup, which showed the rest of the world that Africa is much more than its HIV and AIDS issues. Moreover, Africa’s GDP is expected to rise some 6 percent in 2012, so governments across the continent realize that they need healthy citizens to take advantage of this economic upsurge.

Another influential African taking the lead on HIV/AIDS is South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, who has three wives. After sparking controversy with his suggestion that one can reduce the risk of of HIV/AIDS by showering after sex, he released test results showing he was HIV negative.

Whether Eto’o's efforts can influence the sexual behavior of  young Africans remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, he is one of many Africans who is making themselves seen and heard in Africa’s HIV/AIDS fight.

SEE ALSO:

Top 7 Places To Visit For Thrill-Seekers

Top 5 Winter Travel Destinations

—————-

Maria Davis

Age: 51

City of Residence: New York City

Why she is a local hero: After contracting HIV from a man whom she thought she was going to marry, Maria Davis decided to spread the word about the disease in her community.

Ask Davis how she contracted HIV and she’ll tell you that she “didn’t love herself enough.” A concert promoter working with the likes of Jay-Z and Lil Kim, Davis only found out she had the HIV virus when she went to get a medical workup to get life insurance for her children. Davis admits she didn’t think she could contract the disease.

“It was a disease of gay, white men or drug users,” Davis says. “I didn’t’ fit the profile of any of those things.”

Her HIV results said otherwise. After accepting the disease and her role in contracting it, Davis decided that she needed to fight back.

“This is a preventable disease,” she adds. “People need to know that.”

Now Davis is a peer counselor at the AIDS organization Harlem United. She counsels others with the disease and works to prevent other people from contracting it. Her most recent role is as the face of a new campaign from AIDS research organization AmfAR. The campaign is designed to put a face on the everyday people that advances in AIDS research will benefit.

“Just because HIV/AIDS is now considered a chronic disease doesn’t mean we can forget about it,” Davis told DNA Info. “I’m not going to let people forget about it.”

Despite having neuropathy, which makes her legs feel numb, Davis participated in her third New York City Marathon to raise money for Harlem United last fall. She walks most of the route and it takes her more than seven hours, but Davis says she wants to show people that they are empowered not only to live a fruitful life with the disease but to make the decision not to contract it.

When she’s not advocating for those with HIV/AIDS, Davis spends time raising money to help those in New York City’s homeless shelters.

“This is me,” she says. “This is what I have to do.”

Game Changers 2012

Start Gallery

SEE ALSO: Welfare Office Bans Pajamas

Davis, a 29-year-old man, was sentenced on 14 counts of felonious assault in this case, after it was determined that at least a dozen of his partners were not made aware of his HIV status.

Davis claims that he is a sex addict and that his addiction was also driven by losing his dream of becoming a pro-wrestler after testing positive for HIV:

Drugs and alcohol are terrible, but sex is something everybody wants. I am not a monster, he said.

Davis tells the world that he is not a monster, but he certainly acted like one.  His decision to be so terribly irresponsible with his body has ruined countless lives and made our society a little less safe.  What’s most frightening about this “monster” is that there are thousands of other monsters in our society, some of whom have no idea that they are walking bio-weapons of mass destruction.

Quite a few men, especially those who are athletes and entertainers, have been taught by media to pride themselves on how many women they can sleep with.  When our kids are bombarded with lyrics like “I wish I could F*ck every girl in the world,” (thanks to Lil Wayne) they are filled with a warped sense of masculinity that teaches them that you are to have sex from any attractive woman who offers it.  If women are attracted to you, your rolodex is never too full.

Unfortunately, many women become so hypnotized by the amount of “swag” that a man has, how well he dresses, what he’s driving, or how good he looks, that they don’t take the time to find out if he might send her to the morgue.

Most of us know men who’ve had a lot of sex with a lot of women and haven’t been to the doctor in years.  For some, sex is the perpetual hunger that can never be fully satiated.  While most women grow up accustomed to regular doctor’s visits for pap smears and other routine check-ups, many men do not. Therefore, Davis is actually unique in that he even knows his HIV status in the first place.

Given that he lost his job as a wrestler because of his status, chances are that he was forced to take a test that he would not have gotten otherwise.  How many other Andre Davis-like men are out there who never took the test and will never be prosecuted for spreading HIV because they had no idea of their status?

So perhaps an honest reflection on our sexual decisions might be called for in the strange times in which we live.  Is Andre Davis a monster? I’m not sure.  What is most frightening is that he might not be a monster, abnormality, or uniquely malevolent human being – he might actually just be a regular guy.  I’m sure Davis has quite a few friends just like him.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

SEE ALSO:

Bank Robber Shoots Himself In The Foot (VIDEO)

Aftershave Designed To Hide Strip Club Smells

SEE ALSO: Who Will Romney Pick As VP?

A 2007 study from the World Health Organization found that male circumcision can reduce the HIV infection rate from women to men by about 60 percent. The report concluded that if 80 percent of males in 14 countries were circumcised by 2015, the effort would result in 4 million less HIV infections at a savings of $20 billion. Since countries in Africa have high infection rates and low levels of circumcisions, organizations such as WHO and UNAIDS prioritized populations in that region.

However, the success rate has been low with only 5 percent of WHO’s goal reached in Kenya. Several factors have made it difficult including there being few qualified surgeons, governments like Uganda’s not being on board, and men not willing to go through with the surgery.

But Circ MedTech’s CEO Tzameret Fuerst says PrePex could change all that. The device has three rings that are placed on the genitals to stop the flow of blood to the foreskin. The procedure can be administered by nurses, takes about a minute and is painless. After one week, the skin becomes “like fingernails” and can be removed with blunt, safe scissors.

Fuerst compares the difference between conventional circumcision and what the procedure’s like using PrePex.

“One message is come get circumcised—the procedure entails injected anesthesia, bleeding, a surgical procedure and post-healing time,” she says, “versus telling a man: ‘You’re going to go through something that is virtually painless, there’s no blood, there are no needles, and you can go back to work.’ Now think of the impact on uptake.”

The innovation is patent pending and no country has bought the device yet. (The device is not for sale in the US.) Rwanda has approved it after clinical trials and its health minister Anges Binagwaho has written in the Washington Post that it can be a great thing for her country. And Zimbabwe has begun testing.

Still, PrePex is just one method. HIV prevention counseling has to go hand-in-hand with any effort to fight the disease.

Do you think African countries should give PrePex a chance?

SEE ALSO:

Calif. Parents To Fire School

Haiti’s Uncertain Future, 2 Years Later

SEE ALSO:

How Jerry Sandusky Played The New York Times

Worst Kardashian Lawsuits

It was most widespread in the 1990s as foster care agencies sought treatments for their HIV-infected children that weren’t yet available in the marketplace.

Read more at BlackLikeMoi.com

“And I know the government administered AIDS/ So I guess we just pray like the minister say.”

Kanye’s not the only black person who believes the Feds are behind this devastating disease.

The Rand Corporation reported in a study that, of the 500 black participants they surveyed on whether AIDS was man-made, half answered yes.

RELATED: 5 Myths That Must Go In War Against HIV-AIDS

Back in 1995, Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, Minister of Health for Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, called for a congressional investigation on the subject.

“We know from the Congressional Record that money was appropriated for the creation of artificial biological agents to defeat the human immune system. This took place in July of 1969. Ten million dollars was allocated to the U.S. Army. So… let there be hearings to uncover the files,” CNN quoted Dr. Muhammad.

Here is a rundown of a few theories that have kept the AIDS conspiracy merry-go-round spinning:

1) God Is Punishing You

The late Jerry Falwell not only felt that gays and lesbians were responsible for 9/11, he argued that AIDS was God’s punishment for them as well. “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals,” Fallwell said, “it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

2) Laboratory Accident

British journalist Edward Hooper claimed in his book, The River, that Dr. Hilary Koprowski of the Wistar Research Institute unintentionally created AIDS by using chimp kidneys to produce an oral polio vaccine, according to a 2008 Slate article.

3) The Government Is Trying To Kill Black People

A more recent claim that AIDS was government-sponsored came from the pulpit of President Barack Obama’s former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. During a sermon, Wright blasted the U.S. government for “inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color.”

4) What Virus?

In 1996, University of California-Berkeley professor Peter Duesberg claimed that AIDS is connected to recreational drug use and that HIV is harmless.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki believed him. Mbeki made international headlines ten years ago questioning whether HIV causes AIDS along with a number of other controversial remarks.

Does Any Of This Matter?

Whether or not the government manufactured AIDS, the illness is ravaging the black community in the most devastating fashion.

Blacks make up only 12% of the U.S. population, but account for 44 percent of new HIV infections, according to a recent study by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The study also reports that black women account for 57 percent of new HIV infections and that their incident rate is 15 times more than that of white women. Black teens between the ages of 13-19 account for 68 percent of new AIDS cases despite only making up 17 percent of the teen population.

Given these devastating numbers, are conspiracy theories even relevant? Do you feel conspiracy theories harm efforts to fight HIV-AIDS in the black community?

RELATED:

AIDS DAY Powerfully Personal For Alvin Ailey

RELATED: AIDS DAY Powerfully Personal for Larger-Than-Life Alvin Ailey

During his remarks, Obama stressed that the U.S. has quite a way to go in fighting the disease.  He especially focused on how the disease affects the African American community.

“The rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere, but it’s not going down here in America,” he said. “There are communities in this country being devastated still by this disease. When new infections among young, black, gay men increase by nearly 50 percent in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter.”

During his remarks, Obama gave some props to former President George W. Bush for his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program, “which focuses on prevention, treatment and support programs in 15 countries hit hardest by the AIDS pandemic, 12 of them in Africa,” according to the Associate Press.

“That program — more ambitious than even leading advocates thought was possible at the time — has saved thousands and thousands and thousands of lives, spurred international action, and laid the foundation for a comprehensive global plan that will impact the lives of millions,” Obama said. “And we are proud that we have the opportunity to carry that work forward.”

Do you feel the U.S. government is doing enough to end HIV-AIDS? Was President Obama justified in praising former President George W. Bush on his AIDS efforts while he was in office?

Give us your thoughts.

Read the rest of the story at The Daily Beast.

RELATED: Hershey, PA School Turns Away Boy With AIDS

The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit for the unidentified boy. Attorney Ronda Goldfein says her client requires no special accommodations.

In a statement released to WCAU-TV, school officials acknowledge the boy was denied admission for safety reasons. The school says it must protect the safety of the other 1,850 students already enrolled.
VIDEO:

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Founded in 1909 by chocolate maker Milton Hershey, the school educates low-income and socially disadvantaged students for free with the support of The Hershey Co.
RELATED:

Newt Gingrich Calls Obama A Radical

SEE ALSO: World Records Broken In 2011

Now he is on a mission to right his wrongs and be an advocate for the AIDS prevention and other living with the disease.

Loop 21 reports:

It would take five years and countless hours of filming to help capture Brawner’s story and on World AIDS Day in New York City, Brawner, Brown and producer Yvonne M. Shirley will show an extended trailer of 25 to LIFE, a documentary based on Brawner’s journey.

Honest and raw, the film lays bare agony of the events surrounding Brawner’s diagnosis as a toddler — and his decision to disclose his status as an adult.

“We try not to villify him, and at the same time we don’t want to make him a martyr, either,” Brown says of his treatment of Brawner in 25 to LIFE. “This is not some type of an apology piece. We just tried to present a piece where viewers can answer some of the tough questions about Will’s life within themselves. And I think it kind of humanizes the experience of being HIV positive or having AIDS. You will wish that Will made some better choices. And seeing him work through some of these issues, you’ll feel for him, too.

Read the full story on Loop 21

SEE ALSO:

You Could Get Arrested For Doing THIS On Facebook…

Five Largest Malls In America: Do You Know ‘Em?

Standard practice has been to have patients put off the expensive pill regimen – which can cost up to $15,000 a year in the United States – until the immune system weakens.

SEE ALSO: World Records Broken In 2011

But Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said recent studies have shown that the benefits of early treatment, combined with education and testing, appears to be a promising strategy for countering the epidemic.

“I’m more optimistic now than I’ve ever been about this epidemic that we can drive our new rates down to zero or close to it – eventually. I don’t know how soon. But I’m very optimistic of the direction that it’s going to take the epidemic to,” Farley said in an interview Wednesday.

More than 110,000 people in New York City are infected with HIV, more than in any other U.S. city and about 75 percent of all cases in the state. San Francisco, which had more than 18,000 people living with HIV, is believed to be the only other major city to have made a similar recommendation in 2010.

City health officials said the new recommendation could initially help about 3,000 people get on medications. About 66,000 New Yorkers living with HIV that the Health Department tracks are being effectively treated with AIDS drugs, they said. But they said it was difficult to estimate how many people would eventually need the medications.

Some doctors agree with the Department of Health that it is time to update the guidelines for initiating AIDS drug treatment.

“The New York City health department is a little bit ahead of the curve. In my opinion, the rest of the country will follow and I think it will be pretty quick,” said Dr. Michael Saag of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and past chairman of the HIV Medicine Association.

The standard measure of the CD4 count – a way to measure the strength of the immune system – is an outdated trigger for therapy, a relic from research on early antiretroviral drugs, Saag said.

“It’s anachronism. It’s old school. It’s yesterday,” Saag said. “I agree completely with the New York City health department.”

Dr. Joel Gallant of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and vice chair of the HIV Medicine Association also agrees with the New York recommendation for offering early treatment. He recommends early treatment for his own patients.

“Nobody I know who is an HIV expert feels that it’s a bad idea to treat HIV at high CD4 counts from a medical or scientific standpoint,” Gallant said. “If there are objections, they’d usually be based on cost or feasibility.”

Saag said the cost questions are very important because a brand-name drug can retail for $1,200 to $1,600 per month.

“For sure, they’re very expensive drugs and we should be careful about that,” he said, though he added that the medications are going generic so costs should come down.

City health officials said they anticipated that the cost for expanding the use of AIDS drugs would be covered by private insurance or by the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a $270 million program for the uninsured or underinsured that is partially funded through federal dollars. The health officials said they expect the benefits over the long term would far outweigh the initial costs because there would be fewer hospitalizations and new HIV cases.

“There will be some increasing costs over the short term,” said Farley. “But over the long term, it’s absolutely the right thing for the epidemic.”

HIV experts are split about whether early therapy should be recommended or optional. Besides the high costs, the pills have side effects from nausea to liver damage. Patients unwilling to take them religiously for life could develop drug resistance.

A panel that recently updated U.S. guidelines was divided evenly, with half favoring starting therapy early for everyone and half regarding an early start as elective.

But there’s growing evidence that untreated HIV can lead to cancers and heart disease. What’s more, antiretroviral drugs are safer, have fewer side effects and work better than they did in the past. New research also indicates that people live better, healthier lives and their partners do as well when they get early treatment.

The new research cited by the city’s Health Department in making its recommendations includes a nine-nation study whose preliminary results were announced earlier this year and showed that earlier treatment meant patients were 96 percent less likely to spread the virus to their uninfected partners.

Dr. Moupali Das, the director of research at the San Francisco Department of Health HIV Prevention Section, said its surveillance data indicated that physicians were treating their HIV patients early even before the city recommended doing so. She said the average amount of time from diagnosis to having no virus in the blood went from 32 months in 2004 to eight months in 2008.

“That reflects that the newer medications are more potent and efficacious, and the doctors were likely initiating them earlier,” she said.

She said they are currently analyzing what has happened since the recommendations went into effect. But, anecdotally, she said that there has been a change among patients seeking treatment. “It’s changed the dialogue and empowered our patient population,” she said.

Public health experts predict the guidelines for starting AIDS drugs treatment will shift toward a clear recommendation for early treatment.

But New York City’s health commissioner said officials there could not wait to respond.

“What we’re doing here is we’re making a really clear and unequivocal statement that we think this is good for the health of the patient, good for the health of the entire population, good for the response to the epidemic,” Farley said.

SEE ALSO:

You Could Get Arrested For Doing THIS On Facebook…

Five Largest Malls In America: Do You Know ‘Em?

See also: Gross! Pee Powered Video Game Hits Bar Urinals

See also: You Could Get Arrested For Doing THIS On Facebook

The treated mice in the study appeared to have 100 percent protection against HIV. That doesn’t mean the strategy will work in people. But several experts were impressed.

“This is a very important paper (about) a very creative idea,” says the government’s AIDS chief, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He didn’t take part in the research.

The new study involved injecting mice with a protective gene, an idea that’s been tested against HIV infection in animals for a decade.

In the nearly 30 years since HIV was identified, scientists haven’t been able to find a vaccine that is broadly effective. One boost came in 2009, when a large study in Thailand showed that an experimental vaccine protected about a third of recipients against infection. That’s not good enough for general use, but researchers are now trying to improve it.

Researchers reported the new results in mice online Wednesday in the journal Nature. They hope to test the approach in people in a couple of years. Another research team reported similar success in monkeys in 2009 and hopes to start human tests even sooner.

A traditional vaccine works by masquerading as a germ, training the body’s immune system to build specific defenses in case the real germ shows up. Those defenses are generally antibodies, which are proteins in the blood that have just the right shape to grab onto parts of an invading virus. Once that happens, the virus can’t establish a lasting infection and is cleared from the body.

Scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize a wide range of HIV strains, but they’ve had trouble getting people’s immune systems to create those antibodies with a vaccine.

The gene-injection goal is straightforward. Rather than trying to train a person’s immune system to devise effective antibodies, why not just give a person genes for those proteins? The genes can slip into cells in muscle or some other tissue and make them pump out lots of the antibodies.

The mouse work is reported by David Baltimore and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology.

Ordinary mice don’t get infected with HIV, which attacks the immune system. So the research used mice that carried human immune system cells.

Baltimore’s team used a harmless virus to carry an antibody gene and injected it once into a leg muscle. The researchers found that the mice made high levels of the antibody for more than a year. The results suggest lifetime protection for a mouse, Baltimore said, although “we simply don’t know what will happen in people.”

Even when the mice were injected with very high doses of HIV, they didn’t show the loss of certain blood cells that results from HIV infection. Baltimore said THAT researchers couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of infection, but that their tests found no evidence of it. He said a few hundred mice appeared to be protected.

The work was funded by the federal government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Baltimore said his lab has filed for patents.

“I think it’s great,” said Dr. Philip R. Johnson of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who reported similar results in monkeys in 2009. “It provides additional evidence this is a concept that’s worth moving forward.”

Johnson said he has discussed doing a human trial with federal regulators and is preparing an application for permission to go ahead. If all goes well, a preliminary experiment to test the safety of the approach might begin in about a year, he said. Baltimore said his group is also planning human experiments that he hopes will start in the next couple years.

Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, cautioned that mouse results don’t always pan out in human studies. He also said both the gene approach and standard vaccines should be pursued because it’s not clear which will work better.

“We’re still in the discovery stage of both of them,” he said.

Dr. Harris Goldstein, director of the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research in New York, who has done similar research in mice, called Baltimore’s result a significant advance if it works in humans because it shows a single injection produces high levels of antibodies for a long time.

It might lead not only to preventing infection, but also a treatment for infected people, he said. If it allowed people with HIV to stop or reduce their medications even for temporary periods, they could avoid the inconvenience and side effects of the drugs, he said.

RELATED:

Pilot Faces Investigation After Joining The “Mile High Club”

Craigslist Ad Leads To Dead Body Discovery

Preachers were caught on tape advising HIV-positive people to stop taking their medication because they had been “healed by God.”

As many as six individuals have died after churches instructed them to discontinue their medication, according to the Sky News investigation.

One of the victims, Emmanuel, stopped taking his medicine a year ago after being instructed by a pastor at his church in London.

The pastor told him that once god forgave him, “the disease will definitely go.”

But now Emmanuel believes he may have passed his HIV infection to his boyfriend.

“I feel guilty, if I’m the one who passed it onto him I’m feeling guilty. Yeah, very much guilty,” he told Sky News.

The campaign is sponsored by the Iris House, a community-based organization that meets the needs of women, families and at-risk communities infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The goal of the heterosexual male targeted campaign is to increase awareness, shared sexual responsibility, openness and honesty, according to the agency.

See Also: Rev. Al Sharpton: Google Myself First Thing In Morning

See Also: Black Travel: Explore Harlem NYC

Though the 8-year-old agency was established to provide care for HIV-infected minority women, in October 2010, the Iris House decided to turn its focus to what Executive Director Ingrid Floyd called a “forgotten population.” Floyd said most HIV/AIDS programs target women or gay and bisexual men, but that the agency sought to “fill that gap,” by tailoring a program for black heterosexual men.

The campaign, dubbed “Keep It 100” is named after a commonly used phrase in the black community, which means to be honest.

The idea of targeting heterosexual men came about, after the agency analyzed data on their female clientele, which revealed that 90 percent of them said that they contracted HIV/AIDS from their male partners. Floyd said the Iris House decided to analyze the data after they noticed a pattern in its clientele and the national rates of women infected by men.

“We decided in 2008 when completing our strategic plan that we had to begin providing services for the men in their lives and in the community since no other places were targeting heterosexual men,” Floyd said.

“We wanted to figure out a way to engage the men in the prevention education so that we don’t just put the responsibility on the women.”

The black and Latino populations account for the highest rate of new infections per 100,000 people in the United States, according to 2009 federal data from the Centers for Disease Control. The center also cites New York as the state with the highest number of AIDS diagnoses. Among racial and gender demographics, black men accounted for the highest new infection cases, according to Centers for Disease Control data.

Central Harlem and East Harlem, where the Iris House does most of its outreach, have the second and third highest infection rate in the city, according to 2008 data from the New York City HIV/AIDS Annual Surveillance Statistics.

Patrick Wilson, a professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods like Central Harlem and East Harlem experience high rates of HIV/AIDS infections because of a prevalence in poverty, and socioeconomic disadvantages.

“People have less access to health care and HIV testing,” he said. Wilson said many members of the black community don’t have a desire to get tested because there is still a stigma of promiscuity that is lobbed with HIV/AIDS.

Nevertheless, Wilson cautioned that the high concentration of HIV infections among black, gay and bisexual men remains an epidemic in the community.

Among black men who have sex with men, there were more new HIV infections (52%) among young black men who have sex with men aged 13–29 years, than any other racial or ethnic age group, according to CDC data.

As a result, Wilson says, the Iris House should focus on black men in general, not just heterosexual men.

“Sexual identity is very fluid,” he said. “One can be gay today, and heterosexual tomorrow.”

Wilson said non-heterosexuality remains a stigma in the community, which may cause men not to disclose their sexual identity. For this reason, Wilson questions the effectiveness such a campaign could have, for the long run, in the community.

However, the Iris House also offers a program geared toward black men who have sex with men called d-Up!, a Centers for Disease Control approved intervention program. According to the agency’s website, d-Up! is designed to change social norms and perceptions of black MSM regarding condom use.

Men, both heterosexual and homosexual, report more negative attitudes about condom use than do women, according to data from the American Psychological Association.

Floyd said the Keep It 100 campaign and the agency’s other outreach programs stress the importance of partners engaging in healthy conversations about sex and their HIV status, “before going to the bedroom.”

“It’s the only way to make sure that you are being responsible for yourself,” Floyd said. “That’s the message we want people to get.”

Men who come to the Iris House are encouraged to participate in group workshops, where they are shown videos that encourage them to avoid unprotected sex and be honest about their sexual history with their partners. The agency also provides one-on-one counseling and free testing. Floyd said the Iris House does community outreach, and supplies free condoms to local barbershops, beauty shops, and local businesses.

The agency is also using technology as a means of marketing its Keep It 100 campaign. Around the city, the campaign posters feature small bar codes that can lead smart phone users to the campaign’s website. From there, Floyd says, they can get additional information about the program and its services.

The Iris House was established in 1993, and was named after an AIDS advocate who died of the disease in the 1980s. Until recently, the agency exclusively focused on infected women and their families. Within a year, Floyd said the Iris House hopes to have 75 to 100 men participating in the Keep It 100 one-on-one and group workshops.

The Keep It 100 campaign is funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle conducted a study on 3,790 women in Kenya, Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. They found that the women using hormonal contraceptives were twice as likely to become infected with HIV.

The risk was increased among those using injectable and oral contraceptives.

It’s possible that biological changes, such as changes to the cells that line the vagina or cervix, could possibly influence susceptibility to HIV, the researchers said.

“Recommendations regarding contraceptive use, particularly emphasizing the importance of dual protection with condoms and the use of non-hormonal and low-dose hormonal methods for women with or at risk for HIV-1, are urgently needed”, said study researcher Renee Heffron, also of the University of Washington.

Read more at MSNBC.com

RELATED:

1 In 3 Vets See Iraq, Afghan Wars As Wastes

The term Christian Ignorance Virus was coined by Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Barack Obama’s former church.

The Grio Reports:

What started as a support group for its members, with an initial ministry membership of less than 100, quickly grew. They turned their focus on the community, going out to educate and support any and everyone. Soon they started working with Provident Hospital and also started holding an annual Youth Summit.

“We wanted to do more than just talk about the problem from the pulpit; we wanted to lead by example,” Johnson said. “Just last month Pastor Moss talked to be about getting test at least four times a year from the pulpit and getting the community involved.”

Read More At The Grio

RELATED STORIES

Rev. Wright Calls Those Who Question Obama’s Religion “Sycophants”

D.C. Pushes Female Condoms To Fight H.I.V. Epidemic

The moment was a turning point in the history of the virus, bringing HIV to the forefront of the American consciousness and opening African-American eyes to what was then known at the time as a “gay/white” disease.

Twenty years later, Johnson sits down with L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke, admitting he is now healthy and how he regrets leaving the NBA.

Read more at Colorlines.

RELATED:

Magic Johnson Announces That He Will Create Jobs In Detroit

Magic Johnson Invests In Vibe Magazine

According to a new report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Black gay and bisexual men of all ages account for 73 percent of new infections among Black men, while the number of young Black gay and bisexual men under the age of 30 increased by 50 percent in only four years.

When considering all of this information, the challenge before us is clear: we cannot end the Black AIDS epidemic without confronting HIV among Black gay men, and the stigma and homophobia that allows HIV to flourish in our communities.

Read more at The Grio.

RELATED:

What?! Black Doctors Embarrassed To Test Black Patients For HIV

New Findings Could Forever Change HIV For Black Women

According to the study, Black physicians are embarrassed to address the social stigmas that Blacks bring into the office of the disease, so they often  refrain from addressing the realities and the impact that HIV and AIDS is having on the community.

The survey found that three of the top five barriers to routine testing cited by African-American physicians related to social stigma. Specifically, physicians are concerned that patients may perceive the recommendation to test as accusatory or judgmental (57 percent); would not want to be identified as HIV positive and would worry about people finding out (48 percent); and would be offended due to the stigma associated with HIV (43 percent).

Read more at BET.com

RELATED:

New Findings Could Forever Change HIV For Black Women

South African Pastor Says Jesus Had HIV

One study, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, focused on men and women in Botswana. The other study, conducted by a researcher at The University of Washington and backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, involved heterosexual couples in Uganda and Kenya.

Among those believed to be taking the pills regularly, just four people on Truvada became infected with HIV in comparison with 19 on the fake pill. That means Truvada takers cut their risk of infection by approximately 78%.

Read more at the New York Daily News.

RELATED:

The “Her” In HIV

New Findings Could Forever Change HIV For Black Women