March 10 - Redoubling Our Efforts on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

By Tina Tchen, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Executive Director of the Council on Women and Girls, (Cross-posted from the White House Office of National AIDS Policy Blog)

(Left to right) Moderator Rosie Perez, Dr. Howard Koh (HHS), Tina Tchen (White House Council on Women and Girls), Janet Cleveland (CDC) and Amna Osma (Michigan Department of Community Health) participate in a briefing on HIV/AIDS and women

Today, we commemorate the 5th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a briefing held by the National Alliance for State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) and the HHS Office on Women's Health with important leaders in Congress. The event highlighted how the domestic epidemic is affecting women and how much we need to maintain our commitment to addressing this public health issue.

The statistics are sobering: Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States. While women in the U.S. represented 8 percent of AIDS diagnoses in the 1980's, they now account for 27 percent. The HIV epidemic in the U.S. disproportionately impacts women of color: HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among black women and Latinas. Compared to white women, the AIDS case rate is 5 times higher for Latinas and 20 times higher for black women. Clearly, we must redouble our prevention efforts as well as improve care and treatment for women living with HIV.

Taking Action to Respond to HIV and AIDS Among Women and Girls

By Deb LeBel

Did you know that every 35 minutes a woman tests positive for HIV in the U.S.? That's why the Office on Women's Health (OWH) is encouraging women to get tested and help raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) which takes place tomorrow, Wednesday March 10.

Last year we shared some of the ways OWH was using new media to extend the reach of NWGHAAD. Around the United States an estimated 200 events will occur to get people involved in-person and online to observe the day and to take action in response to the epidemic. You can check out some of the in-person events happening throughout the country (and find one to attend!) on the NWGHAAD website. OWH is also hosting their own in-person NWGHAAD event at the Press Club in Washington DC on March 10th. You can register here to watch a live webcast of this event.

U.S. Health Partners Play Key Role in Haiti Earthquake Response

By Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (Cross-posted from the State Department Blog)

For many years, the U.S. Government has been partnering with the people of Haiti in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In fiscal year 2009, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided more than $125 million to support comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programs in Haiti.

Following the tragic earthquake in Haiti, PEPFAR has been actively engaged in the response, working in support of larger U.S. Government efforts. PEPFAR is working particularly closely with several PEPFAR-supported partners who have been central to the response — Partners in Health, GHESKIO, AIDSRelief/University of Maryland, and the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS).

National HIV/AIDS Strategy Meeting Videos Now Available

By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

As we mentioned in last week’s post, the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) held a meeting on February 24, 2010 for the public to hear about the progress to date on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). A video is now available of last week’s public meeting.

We spoke with some of our fellow attendees and asked them what they took away from the meeting, and we’ve created a video capturing some of those conversations. We hope you’ll take a look, and leave a comment about what you hope to see as development of the NHAS goes forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9R0f_Nj-kA

Read the transcript.

Stay tuned to AIDS.gov and the ONAP website for more updates about the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Organizations Serving Youth of Color: Using New Media to Enhance Programs

Guest post by Urooj Arshad, Advocates for Youth

Urooj Arshad, Advocates for Youth

Last month we had the pleasure of speaking at the Advocates for Youth roundtable in Washington, DC for its Youth of Color Initiative (funded through the CDC's Division of Adolescent School Health). The participants were grantees who receive seed grants and capacity building services.We asked Urooj Arshad, Program Manager for the Youth of Color Initiative at Advocates for Youth, to tell us more about the roundtable and how their grantees are using new media to reach youth of color. Here is what she had to say:

This roundtable provided an opportunity for the grantees to share lessons learned as well as strategies for developing and implementing culturally appropriate HIV prevention interventions for young African American/Black and Latina/Hispanic women. Some of the skills-based sessions included: mobilizing youth of color using new media strategies; organizational development; science-based programs; and working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

Organizations funded through the Youth of Color Initiative occupy a wide spectrum of geographic, infrastructural and programmatic diversity.