AIDS Action Committee’s Blog

A Change Is Gonna Come!
By Lee F. Carson

World AIDS Day always inspires me to reflect on how I started doing HIV prevention work for Black gay men, which began officially, exactly 7 years ago today on December 1, 2000. I, at that time was thoroughly excited about landing a job with an organization in my hometown of Rochester, NY that provided services for Black men who have sex with men (MSM). I remember thinking, “Wow, how can an organization like this exist in a small city like Rochester?” But it did, and it still does, and it, like all of the organizations across the country serving Black MSM have more work to do than ever, because in spite of our best efforts with the limited resources the government has given us, we have fallen short of saving the lives of Black gay men from HIV/AIDS. A disease with a small name, but powerful punch, that has robbed our families and our communities of so many beautiful and talented Black gay men. However, I believe a change is gonna come!

(Read on …)

David Ernesto Munar, Vice President for Policy & Communications for AIDS Foundation of Chicago wrote a blog post below for the Prevention Justice Mobilization, commenting on the need for a national AIDS strategy as well as the CDC’s reluctance to release new HIV infection rate numbers. He is reporting from the National HIV Prevention Conference currently underway in Atlanta

Viral Marketing
By David Munar
ATLANTA–Resolute in its decision to delay the release of alarming new HIV infection estimates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) kicked off the National HIV Prevention Conference amid widespread anger and concern that the nation may be losing ground in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

With speculation mounting about the motives and content of CDC’s unreleased data, official speeches of compassion and urgency received polite applause from the hundreds of assembled participants who seemed either unmoved or unconvinced.

Remarks from the openly HIV-positive co-chair of the HIV Advisory Committee for CDC and HRSA electrified an otherwise sedated opening plenary. Acknowledging a need to voice what might otherwise not be said, Jesse Milan Jr. told the audience the time had come for the U.S. to develop a national strategy against HIV/AIDS-something federal contracts require of developing nations that accept U.S. taxpayer money for AIDS relief.

Increasingly, the call for a national AIDS strategy is emerging wherever the topic of HIV is discussed. In an era of sustained funding bans for proven effective interventions, such as sterile syringe availability and comprehensive sexuality education, the fledging campaign has become its own promising “structural intervention.”

Inspired by an Open Society Institute report documenting the rationale and components an effective strategy development process, several leading AIDS organizations began promoting the idea among allied organizations earlier this year. The idea took hold like wild fire. More than 180 organizations and hundreds of individuals have endorsed the online “call to action” for a national AIDS strategy thus far.

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