In our annual blog community observance of World AIDS Day, here is what others have written:
thegayte-keeper
If you have a World AIDS Day blog entry, add a link in the comments.
Entries Tagged 'World AIDS Day' ↓
World AIDS Day Across the Blogosphere
December 1st, 2007 — World AIDS Day
Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise
December 1st, 2007 — World AIDS Day
This is the first World AIDS Day in a very long time when I have no professional connection to the AIDS community. For five years I was employed by a supportive housing provider for PLWHAs doing training and technical assistance; before that, briefly as a health educator with an ASO.
While my life has now taken me in a different direction, my personal commitment to raising HIV/AIDS awareness and working for policy and funding changes to address the epidemis remains unchanged.I may not be on the frontlines of this battle any more but I want to make you aware of others who are.
Prevention Justice Mobilization is a newly-formed grassroots efforts to refocus the discussion about HIV around social justice issues. Prevention Justice believes that the best way to prevent HIV/AIDS is to ensure that all people have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality, and reproduction for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
This weekend, they are making their prescence felt in Atlanta, as the CDC National Prevention Conference gets underway.
With the 2008 presidential race heating up, Gay Men’s Health Crisis has prepared a report (available as a PDF) on where the candidates stand on establishing a domestic AIDS strategy. The current administration has no strategy other than to limit or cut existing funding (which is how I lost my last job) and not a lot has been said on the issue by candidates of either party in recent debates.
HIV infection rates continue to climb in the United States, especially among Black gay men. Old prevention messages are for some reason falling on deaf ears. This year we must commit ourselves to protection on a personal level and increased political activism in our communities.
World AIDS Day: Keep the Promise
December 1st, 2006 — World AIDS Day
Today is World AIDS Day and the 25th anniversary of the first recognized cases of the disease. The theme for this year’s annual observance is “Keep the Promise.”
The promise to which we are referring, was made six years ago when world leaders made a promise to halt and begin to reverse the spread of AIDS by 2015. However new reports by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that, as of 2006, the epidemic continues to spread in every region of the world.
To date around 65 million people have been infected with HIV and AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people since it was first recognised in 1981. The vast majority of the 38.6 million people living with HIV in 2005 are unaware of their status.
AIDS is among the greatest development and security issues facing the world today.
In 2005 AIDS claimed the lives of 2.8 million people and over 4 million people were newly infected with the virus.
At around 17.3 million, women make up almost half of the total number of people living with the virus, 13.2 million of which live in sub-Saharan Africa (76% of all women living with HIV).
Sub-Saharan remains the most affected region in the world. Two thirds of all people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa where 24.5 million people were living with HIV in 2005.
Growing epidemics are underway in Eastern Europe and Central Asia where 220,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2005.
Declines in HIV prevalence have been noted in Kenya, Zimbabwe, urban parts of Haiti and Burkina Faso and four Indian states including Tamil Nadu.
Here in the United States, at the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the were living with HIV/AIDS. In 2004, 38,730 cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in the 35 areas (33 states, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated that approximately 40,000 persons become infected with HIV each year.
In 2004, the largest estimated proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were for men who have sex with men (MSM), followed by adults and adolescents infected through heterosexual contact. MSM accounted for 70% of all estimated HIV infections among male adults and adolescents in 2004 (based on data from 35 areas with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting), even though only about 5% to 7% of male adults and adolescents in the United States identify themselves as MSM. The number of HIV diagnoses for MSM decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, but recent surveillance data show an increase in HIV diagnoses for this group. This increase points to a continued need for culturally appropriate prevention and education services.
Almost three quarters of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were for male adolescents and adults.
According to the 2000 census, African Americans make up 12.3% of the US population. However, African Americans accounted for 19,206 (50%) of the estimated 38,730 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 35 areas with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.
During 2001–2004, the rate of HIV/AIDS diagnoses for African Americans decreased, although the rate for African Americans was still the highest rate for all racial and ethnic groups.
The primary mode of HIV transmission among African American men was sexual contact with other men, followed by heterosexual contact and injection drug use.
The primary mode of HIV transmission among African American women was heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
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Expecting world leaders to hold to their promise may seem like a tall order, but there are things we can all do as individuals to contribute to the global effort.
First, educate yourself. Know the facts about HIV/AIDS, what it is and how it is transmitted from person to person. Don’t make assumptions about your own risk level or the health status of people with which you come in contact.
Second, share your knowledge with others. Correct misinformation and don’t fall victim to other’s assumptions or assertions about who is or isn’t at risk.
Third, take responsibility for your own actions. Maintaining your health is your responsibility, not that of any potential partner. Understand the risks and take necessary precautions to keep yourself safe from infection, even if others are reluctant to do so.
UNAIDS LINK
World Health Organization LINK
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention LINK
National Minority AIDS Council LINK
National HIV Testing Resources LINK
World AIDS Day: Across the Blogosphere
December 1st, 2006 — World AIDS Day
Once again, the worldwide blog community is joining together to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic. This list of participants will be updated over the course of the day as I become aware of more blogs, so if you wish to be included, send your link to me at Bernie@bernardjtarver.com. Put “World AIDS Day” in the subject line.
At Thirty-three LINK
BlackGayBlogger LINK 1 LINK 2
Clay Cane LINK
The Edge of Night LINK
The Emancipation of ProfessorGQ LINK
Flan! Flan! Flan! LINK
Gay Persons of Color LINK
GreasyGuide LINK
J’s Theater LINK
J-Notes LINK
Jasmyne Cannick LINK
Just be dat LINK
Keith Boykin LINK
The Mad Professah Lectures LINK
Pam’s House Blend LINK
PinkMafiaRadio LINK
Rod 2.0:beta LINK 1 LINK 2 LINK 3 LINK 4
thebrotherlove LINK
The Republic of T LINK 1 LINK 2
This Thing Called Life LINK
Troy LINK
World AIDS Day: The Facts
December 1st, 2005 — World AIDS Day
The number of HIV diagnoses in the U.S. reached a plateau from 2001-2004, yet gay and bisexual men continue to account for the largest number of new HIV cases, making up 44 percent of new infections reported in 33 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Click here.
In that same CDC report, New York State accounted for 20 percent of all new infections, with Black men showing the largest increases. Click here.
South African health officials report that an estimated 5.2 million people, or 11 percent of the nation’s population, are HIV-infected. The estimate is lower than the health department’s most recent number (6.3 million) and higher than the estimate put out by Statistics South Africa (4.5 million), but in any case the researchers said it describes an epidemic that is “massive” and growing. Click here.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has fallen short of its goal of providing life-saving medication to 3 million people living with HIV in poor countries by the end of 2005 and has issued an official apology. WHO did acknowledge that 1 million people are now on medication but exact figures will not be known until next year. Click here.
The Chinese government has introduced a new condom specifically for gay men. Beyond targeting men who have sex with men as a particular at-risk population, it is not known just how this condom differs from any other. However the effort does signify the government’s awareness of a growing problem within an identifiable subsection of the community. Click here.
A substantial number of HIV-positive individuals with proven resistance to antiretroviral drugs had unprotected sex with a partner to whom they could have transmitted drug-resistant HIV, according, the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Click here.
Think you know all there is to know about HIV and AIDS? Are you an expert on reproduction and pregnancy? Do you know enough about condoms and contraception? Is there anything you don’t know about sex? Take these quizzes on HIV/AIDS. Click here.
A list of things you can do to educate yourself and others about HIV/AIDS. Click here.