Advocacy Alerts
‘We really do have the means to end the epidemic’
The declaration was made at the U.S. Conference on AIDS, and the point was that, short of a cure, with early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, we have at least arrived at a stalemate with HIV. This is a profound milestone, three decades after the first diagnoses among gay men in the U.S.
In addition to news about breakthroughs in prevention technology, updates confirmed that one-pill-a-day treatment is increasingly common, and that with good treatment, a person with HIV could expect to live as long as an HIV-negative person. We all realized that a revolution had taken place, a revolution that came about because of the hard work of an army of scientists and activists and people with AIDS. Good cause to celebrate, indeed.
There is also growing awareness among the directors of America's leading AIDS service organizations that moving from science to implementation to achieve the "new possible" in HIV and AIDS care will require continuing structural changes to facilitate better access to health care, sustainable treatment, support services for those struggling with mental illness and addiction, counseling support for medication adherence and safer sex, and more. We also believe that providing that care and those services must continue to be linked to ensuring the rights and dignity not only of people with HIV, but of still-too-often marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by AIDS, such as gay and bisexual men, or injection drug users.
In other words, we all recognized that much has changed, which is good; but much remains the same.Keep the Promise: Ohio’s HIV/AIDS Care
After several decades of intensive research and practice, researchers now know that good medical care—especially treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) medications—can dramatically extend health, life, and productivity for Ohioans living with HIV/AIDS. And over time, costs for basic care have continued to come down, while treatment has become simpler and easier to handle. HIV disease, once thought to be fatal for every diagnosed person, has become a manageable disease for a growing number of people—if good care is accessed and maintained.
Fairness in HIV Prevention Funding
Major Organizations Call for Fairness in HIV Prevention Funding
Policy Brief documents inequitable funding for HIV prevention for gay/bisexual men
DAYTON,OH—This afternoon AIDS Resource Center Ohio (ARC Ohio), which serves more than 2/3 of Ohio’s 88 counties, called upon state and local governments to “ensure that HIV prevention efforts for gay and bisexual men receive an equitable share of public resources—a share that corresponds to the continuing impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men.”
The request for equitable funding allocations is one of a series of recommendations made in a policy brief entitled “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Gay/Bisexual Men (MSM) and HIV/Sexual Health Education in Ohio.” The brief, which is also endorsed by major local and statewide HIV/AIDS and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights organizations, was released to coincide with LGBT Pride Month, held in June every year in cities across the U.S.
Pre-Exposure Miracle Drug??
The Facts, Warnings and Info You Should Know about Pre-Exposure Treatments for HIV
2010 Election: A Brief Overview
How the 2010 Mid-Term Elections effect HIV/AIDS policies and funding.
Thank You Gov. Strickland!
Please join us in thanking Governor Strickland for his help in rescuing Ohio’s HIV Drug Assistance Program.
Blood Donation Policy Change
Below, please view a joint letter sent to FDA Director Margaret Hamburg and Blood Safety Advisory Committee Chair Jerry Holberg, on the need to update blood donor restriction policies applying to gay and bisexual men.
