Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is a health services, education, research and policy organization dedicated to educating, supporting, empowering and advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities—particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL HIV/AIDS STRATEGY: THIS WEEK IN DC
A&PI Wellness Center is pleased to note that some key concerns of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) are acknowledged in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), particularly around the need for stronger HIV data collection and surveillance methodologies to better understand the impact of HIV in our communities. The NHAS also expressly noted the need for AANHPI inclusion in comprehensive prevention strategies for men who have sex with men. These are important steps forward for our communities.
The fight is far from over, however, and we are busy advocating on behalf of all AANHPIs to ensure our voices are heard. Through our coalition work (with the Federal AIDS Public Policy and National People of Color HIV/AIDS workgroups), we are at the table helping to shape the implementation of the NHAS. We are prioritizing cultural and linguistic competency, with an eye toward the needs of AANHPIs. We also want to be sure the strategy is flexible enough to adjust to the needs of emerging populations affected by the HIV epidemic.
This week, we are traveling to Washington, DC to meet with key leaders to discuss the NHAS and move our policy agenda forward. Visits will include:
- Jeff Crowley (Director of the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy)
- Kate Moraras (Advisor on Health Policy and Community Engagement, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders)
- Christopher Bates (the Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy)
- Congresswoman Judy Chu
Stay tuned for more updates!
Read more about the National HIV/AIDS Strategy:
The XVIII International AIDS Conference 2010 took place in Vienna, Austria, July 18–23. You may have seen or read about some exciting news about the state of HIV/AIDS prevention research. Here are some selected articles and video from the conference:
The results of the CAPRISA 004 Microbicide trial was presented on July 20. The trial involved using 1% Tenofovir vaginal microbicide gel. The results showed that when the gel was used before and after sex, HIV infection was reduced by 39%. If women used the gel more often, they were 54% less likely to contract HIV. Find out more about the CAPRISA trial: Video from IAC | CDC Press Release
Tenofovir was also the subject of a second study by CDC among men who have sex with men. This study measured the risk of using tenofovir as part of a pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection. This study was presented as a late breaking session at IAC on July 23. Find out more by reading the CDC Press Release.
On July 19, CDC released an analysis of showing 2.1% of heterosexuals living in high-poverty urban areas in the US are infected with HIV. The analysis showed “that poverty is the single most important demographic factor associated with HIV infection among inner-city heterosexuals.” Read more about this analysis here.
In related news, the journal Science published a report that US government scientists have discovered three powerful HIV antibodies in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American gay man. You can read more about this discover and the science behind developing a vaccine and antibodies in this Wall Street Journal article.
A&PI WELLNESS CENTER AT THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE ON AIDS
Are you going to be at the United States Conference on AIDS in Orlando next month? We'd love to see you at either our booth or at one of the many sessions we'll be presenting!
On Sunday, September 12, we’ll be co-presenting the Asian & Pacific Islander Institute with Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. We have some exciting things to share, and we hope you’ll stop by! Institutes run from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The first round of seminars and workshops start Monday. At 9:00 a.m., Banyan Tree Project staff will be co-facilitating “So You’ve Got a Facebook Fan Page. Now What?” with the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. Later that afternoon at 2:15 p.m., TRANS:THRIVE staff will be presenting their workshop, “T-LISH: Adapting the Mpowerment Intervention for Transgender Youth of Color.” At 4:30 p.m., don’t miss our Health Education department’s workshop “Seeing Double: HIV/AIDS Rates Increase by 255.6% in A&PI Young Men Who Have Sex With Men.”
Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., we will be presenting “Crisis Communication: Managing Your Organization’s Image in Uncertain Times.” And if you have some time, stop by our poster session Monday from 1:45–2:15 p.m. or Tuesday from 1:15–1:45 p.m. and check out “ECON 101: Homegrown Strategies for Saving HIV Funding at Local and State Levels.’
To find out more about the United State Conference on AIDS, visit the National Minority AIDS Council website.
SIGN UP FOR ONE OF OUR FREE ONLINE HIV TRAININGS
A&PI Wellness Center is proud to bring its HIV trainings online for free! All you need is a computer to view the slides and a phone to listen in and ask questions! Trainings are free! Sign up below! For questions about this series of trainings, please email cstep@apiwellness.org or call Sardis Rodriguez at 415.292.3420 x 377.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE WOMEN & HIV TRAINING!
HIV Treatment Update: Know What’s New
Wednesday, August 25, 11:00 AM PDT
HIV Treatment Update: Know What’s New is a 2-hour training for HIV and health service providers, peer educators and advocates, proposed to meet the high demand for updated information on the latest advances in HIV treatment. This training will address emerging treatment issues. By the end of the training, participants will have engaged in some of the following topics:
- New developments in HIV treatment and prevention;
- Newly approved medications and medications in the pipeline;
- Updates to treatment guidelines;
- Vaccine research;
- Pre-exposure prophylaxis and Post-exposure prophylaxis.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR “HIV TREATMENT UPDATE: KNOW WHAT’S NEW”!
Above is the latest Banyan Tree Project public service announcement, “Saving Face Can’t Make You Safe. Talk About HIV.” “Saving face” is a common cultural concept in A&PI communities, where individuals seek to protect the family from perceived public shame or disgrace. In practice, "saving face" contributes to silence about sex, HIV, and safe sex practices. Saving face and stigma also lead to higher rates of HIV infection and a lack of knowledge about one's HIV status:
- 1 in 3 Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV don’t know it
- Over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV
- Over two-thirds of Asians have never been tested for HIV
We would like to encourage you to share our public service announcement to break the circle of silence and shame surrounding HIV. Share it on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Please also check out our other commemoration messages from James Kyson Lee of NBC’s Heroes, California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, Ryan Ong Palao (aka Ongina) and Kiran Ahuja from the White House. Stop by the Banyan Tree Project website or keep up to date on what we’re doing on Facebook and Twitter. Saving face can’t make you safe. Talk about HIV.
In 2009, we produced a short film describing who we are and what we do, from the perspective of our clients and community members. We are honored that a few very special people agreed to be in the film, speaking on our behalf. Thank you: Cecilia, Adam, Mark, Wylie, and Tri. A big thanks goes out to Paul Wood and David Valentin from Monolithworks Corpcomm, who directed the video. Let us know what you think!
A&PI Wellness Center staff Sonia Rastogi and Sara Kunitake lent their voices to a new HIV testing video. Produced by Kaiser Permanente and Youth Radio, the video talks about the importance for youth to get tested for HIV. We hope you take some time to watch it and share it with your family, friends and colleagues.
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