A Bridge for ADAPs to 2014: A National Conversation By Vera Yakovchenko, Public Health Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services On April 7, 2011, on behalf of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, I attended “A Bridge for ADAPs to 2014: A National Conversation,” an event hosted by Dr. E. Blaine Parrish, Associate Dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, DC. The purpose of this meeting was to … [Read more...]
APRIL is STD Awareness Month ~ Rachel Kachur MDH, CDC
April 19, 2011 by
April is STD Awareness Month. Did you GYT? April is STD Awareness Month. Every year there are over 19 million new cases of STDs in the United States (CDC). Half of these new STD infections occur among young people ages 15 to 24 even though this age group makes up only 25% of the sexually active population. There are many negative outcomes of having an STD, including an increased risk for HIV infection. One way to make a difference during STD Awareness Month is to promote … [Read more...]
NHAS: Federal Leads Continue Collaborative Efforts
April 15, 2011 by
Federal Leads Continue Collaborative Efforts On Monday, April 4, 2011, representatives from the six Federal agencies designated by the President as lead agencies with responsibility for implementing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) met to continue our collaborative efforts to implement the Strategy. The primary focus of the meeting was the continued exploration of the impact of homelessness and housing insecurity on HIV/AIDS outcomes with a focus on how to better coordinate … [Read more...]
Mindy Nichamin – Youth, Mobile and Health at Sex::Tech2011
April 12, 2011 by
Youth, Mobile, and Health at Sex::Tech 2011 Earlier this month, I attended Sex::Tech 2011 in San Francisco, the fourth annual conference on technology, youth, and sexual health. At the conference, I heard from a range of experts - sexual health educators, researchers, technology developers, parents, and of course, youth and young adults. During her welcome presentation on Day 1, Sex::Tech founder Deb Levine emphasized that when it comes to reaching young people with sexual … [Read more...]
Celebrate HHS: Approaching 30 Years of HIV/AIDS in the United States
April 8, 2011 by
Approaching 30 Years of HIV/AIDS in the United States In less than two months, we will mark the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of what we now know as AIDS. In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rare form of pneumonia diagnosed in five, previously healthy, gay men from Los Angeles. The report raised concerns that these five men had been exposed to something that caused their profound immune suppression. Now we know that their … [Read more...]
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
April 5, 2011 by
Highlights from the White House Meeting for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Earlier this month I attended a White House meeting for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 11). This meeting brought together leaders from across the country and focused on where the response is today when it comes to HIV among women and girls in the U.S. After the event I spoke with some of the panelists and the following video provides a few highlights from my … [Read more...]
PEPFAR and Ukraine: A Partnership To Stop the Spread of HIV
April 4, 2011 by
The Ukraine is Taking Action! I recently visited Ukraine for the first time in my role as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. I was pleased to have the opportunity to return to Ukraine, a country where I have spent considerable time working to strengthen HIV prevention, care and treatment services. Ukraine is currently experiencing the most severe HIV epidemic in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. UNAIDS estimates that 1.1 percent of adults in Ukraine are … [Read more...]
San Francisco’s New Approach to HIV Prevention
March 30, 2011 by
San Francisco’s New Approach to HIV Prevention With this post, we launch an occasional series, The Strategy in Action: Communities Respond to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. In these posts, we will spotlight some of the ways that diverse communities from across the U.S. are undertaking efforts to support and implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. This first post in the series features HIV prevention efforts currently underway in San Francisco, a city that holds a unique place in the … [Read more...]
UNAIDS: 'eliminate transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies'
March 30, 2011 by
The time is NOW ... 'to eliminate transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies!' The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa has come a step closer with the endorsement of a new regional framework following a three-day consultation in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this month. The consultation brought together government representatives from 15 high-burden countries[i], civil society organizations and donors. They were joined by the UN … [Read more...]
NONPROFIT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 2011
March 29, 2011 by
2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference We attended the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) sponsored by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) last week, along with hundreds of nonprofit organizations from across the country. This year 2,000+ people attended, making for the largest NTC ever. There was a of diverse group of presenters and attendees, including Dan Health , co-author of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard , who gave a plenary talk on … [Read more...]
Honoring Dr. Mark Colomb’s Contribution to the Response to HIV
March 29, 2011 by
Honoring Dr. Mark Colomb’s Contribution to the Response to HIV Dr. Mark Colomb This week we lost another leader in the HIV community. Dr. Mark Colomb (1963-2011) was passionately committed to Mississippi and other southern communities; and he focused on responding to the needs of Black men who have sex with men. Dr. Colomb participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) consultation which resulted in the establishment of the Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) in … [Read more...]
Honoring Dr. Mark Colomb's Contribution to the Response to HIV
March 29, 2011 by
Honoring Dr. Mark Colomb’s Contribution to the Response to HIV Dr. Mark Colomb This week we lost another leader in the HIV community. Dr. Mark Colomb (1963-2011) was passionately committed to Mississippi and other southern communities; and he focused on responding to the needs of Black men who have sex with men. Dr. Colomb participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) consultation which resulted in the establishment of the Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) in … [Read more...]
