Misc. HIV/AIDS government pronouncements & stuff.

[Minuteman]

"National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day– February 7" blog.AIDS.gov 6 February 2012.

http://blog.aids.gov/2012/02/nationa...og.AIDS.gov%29

By Kevin Fenton, M.D., Ph.D., FFPH, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC, @CDC_DrFenton
...
Over the past several years, we have also witnessed tremendous breakthroughs in HIV prevention that can help alter the course of the epidemic. Rates of HIV testing are growing and are at an all-time high. Yet research now shows that early treatment not only provides improved health and much longer lives for people living with HIV, but it also can reduce their risk of passing the virus to partners by 96 percent. And new prevention tools – like a daily pill – have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection in some high-risk populations, when combined with other prevention measures.
...
And HIV touches every corner of the black community and the impact of HIV has been especially devastating among black youth. Approximately 40 percent of new infections among blacks are now occurring among those aged 13 and 29 years. Young black gay and bisexual men are the most severely affected, experiencing a nearly 50 percent increase in new HIV infections over the past few years. In addition, HIV is now the third leading cause of death among black women in the prime of their lives – those aged 35 to 44 years.
...
HIV prevention in black communities remains one of our top public health priorities. Last year, for example, CDC invested more than half of its HIV prevention budget to fight HIV among African-Americans. We’ve expanded initiatives to reach more African-Americans with HIV testing and increased the number and reach of HIV prevention programs in black communities. We are working with our partners, like those in the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, to launch campaigns and undertake activities aimed at increasing HIV testing and awareness among black women and black gay and bisexual men, among other groups.
...
Posted in: CDC, HIV Policy & Programs, HIV/AIDS Awareness Days

[Minuteman]

"NIAID HIV/AIDS Research among Black Americans"

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/HIVA...Americans.aspx

NIAID funds and conducts numerous studies on the prevention, care, treatment and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among black Americans. These studies include:

TLC-Plus (HPTN 065)
This study will determine the feasibility and may inform the design of a future U.S. clinical trial of an HIV prevention strategy that involves a more aggressive, community-wide approach to testing people for HIV and quickly linking them to medical care. The study is taking place in two majority-black communities: Washington, D.C., and the Bronx, N.Y. For more information, .

D.C. Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress
This collaborative research initiative by NIH and the Washington, D.C. Department of Health aims to decrease the rate of new HIV infections in the nation’s capital, improve the health of district residents living with HIV infection, and strengthen the city’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Women’s Interagency HIV Study
Black women compose more than half of the 3,800 participants in this ongoing observational study of the natural and treated history of HIV infection in women, now in its 19th year. The participants come from Brooklyn, N.Y., the Bronx, N.Y., Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. NIAID is a major funder of this study. For more information, please see the WIHS website.

HPTN 064
This study aims to estimate HIV incidence among African-American and other women from areas with high rates of both HIV and poverty. The study characterizes the women’s sexual behavior, alcohol and drug use, prevalence of domestic violence, and mental health indicators, and explores issues that facilitated and hampered HIV testing. Investigators finished collecting data in 2011 and plan to present their results in March 2012 at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle.

HPTN 061
The purpose of this study is to research and potentially design a new, improved way of slowing the spread of HIV among black men who have sex with men. The HPTN 061 investigators are currently analyzing their collected data with plans to present results in July at the AIDS 2012 conference in Washington, D.C.

[Minuteman]

"February PACHA Meeting to Focus on Women and Girls" blog.AIDS.gov 8 February 2012.

http://blog.aids.gov/2012/02/februar...og.AIDS.gov%29

By Christopher Bates, M.P.A., Executive Director, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) will convene February 28 and 29 in Washington, DC. Among the many items on the agenda for the 45th meeting of the PACHA, two are of particular note:

* A conversation with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius on a variety of issues, including the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy across HHS.
* PACHA will devote much of the first day of this meeting to an examination of the state of HIV/AIDS among women and girls in the U.S. and the nation’s response. A number of speakers have been invited to address PACHA on issues including HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and access to care and treatment.
...
The meeting will be held at the White House and will be the first to be led by the newly appointed chairperson, Nancy Mahon. Ms. Mahon is Senior Vice President of M·A·C Cosmetics and Executive Director of the M·A·C AIDS Fund.
...
Posted in: HIV Policy & Programs, PACHA, Women and Girls

[Minuteman]

"Celebrating International Women’s Day by Investing in Women and Girls" DipNote U.S. Department of State Official Blog entry dated 14 March 2012.

http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/sit...omens_day_2012

Excerpts:

Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and Melanne Verveer serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.

As we observe Women's History Month throughout March, we celebrate the work pioneered by advocates, policymakers, and practitioners around the world to advance women's rights. Promoting the rights of women and addressing gender inequities and gender norms are essential steps to reducing HIV risk and increasing access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services -- for both women and men.

The Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues (S/GWI) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are committed to advancing the rights and health of women and girls around the world. Under the leadership of President Obama and Secretary Clinton, the United States has put women and girls front and center in the three pillars of our foreign policy -- diplomacy, development, and defense.
...
Today, at the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event at the White House, we announced a joint S/GWI and PEPFAR initiative. We will support civil society organizations with small grants to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV), with a link to HIV prevention, treatment or care.
...
The White House also released a Presidential Memorandum establishing a working group to explore the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, and gender-related health disparities in the United States -- and will include lessons learned from our international work in this area.
...
As we move forward globally, we will continue to focus on several key objectives -- including reducing GBV and coercion; engaging men and boys to address norms and behavior; increasing women and girls' legal protection; increasing women and girls' access to income and productive resources, including education; and ensuring gender equity in HIV/AIDS programs and services, including access to reproductive health services.
...
For example, over the last two years, PEPFAR has invested close to $155 million in responding to GBV.
...
We are also partners in the Together for Girls initiative -- a unique partnership that brings together public, private, United Nations and U.S. agencies to address sexual violence against children, particularly girls.

[Mister.Barbecue]

From a news article: "In addition, sexual intercourse may cause tiny tears in the foreskin, allowing the virus into the bloodstream."

What does this mean? Where are these tears supposed to come from?

[Minuteman]

"Peace Corps Recognizes World AIDS Day" blog.AIDS.gov 16 November 2012.

Excerpts:

By Buck Buckingham, Director, Peace Corps Office of Global Health and HIV
...
Volunteers are particularly noted for their contributions in creating community demand for HIV testing and counseling (HTC), building sustainable approaches to community care of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), scaling-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programs, and supporting development and leadership in youth education programs on HIV.

The Peace Corps is an implementing agency of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is the U.S. Government initiative to save and improve the lives of those living with and affected by HIV around the world. Peace Corps Volunteers play a unique role in advancing PEPFAR’s goal of achieving an AIDS-free generation, working directly with the populations most affected by the disease. You can read more about how the Peace Corps and PEPFAR work together here and about a newly announced PEPFAR/Peace Corps public-private partnership, the Global Health Service Partnership, here.

Approximately 24 percent of Peace Corps volunteers have a primary assignment in the health sector, and all volunteers are encouraged to contribute to HIV/AIDS education initiatives at some point during their 27-month service. In 2011, the Peace Corps used PEPFAR funds to expand the impact of its global HIV efforts in 47 countries.

EDIT 20 Nov 2012 -

"Peace Corps Observes International Men’s Day" blog.AIDS.gov 19 November 2012.

http://blog.aids.gov/2012/11/peace-c...-mens-day.html

Excerpts:

In much of the developing world, men retain significant authority over many aspects of family and community life. Without men, we don’t have healthy communities. Men frequently control decisions about access to resources that either limit – or expand – access to education, health and social support services for women and girls. Men may – or may not – adopt and model behaviors that safeguard their own health and the health of their partners. Peace Corps employs several strategies that engage men and boys to reduce gender inequalities and promote the health and well-being of women, men, and children.
...
These male-focused activities are typically complemented by programs directly focused on women and girls. Hundreds of Volunteers in dozens of countries regularly organize “Girls Leading Our World” (GLOW) camps and similar activities that empower adolescent and young adult females to be conscious of and prepared to respond to male behaviors that may compromise their health and wellbeing.

[greg_b]

Originally Posted by Mister.Barbecue

From a news article: "In addition, sexual intercourse may cause tiny tears in the foreskin, allowing the virus into the bloodstream."

What does this mean? Where are these tears supposed to come from?

It is fearmongering. Consider how much easier it is to tear skin when the skin is help tight and immobilized...

Regards

[Distalero]

Originally Posted by greg_b

It is fearmongering. Consider how much easier it is to tear skin when the skin is help tight and immobilized...

Regards

For those with the eyes to see it, it's also a tacit admission that circumcision removes most of that easily torn tissue (mucosa), so they should, if honest disclosure was important to them, also state that the resulting effect of circumcision is to create a barrier by toughening any remaining mucosa. It's simple, it's honest, and it's avoided in discussion. And we know why it's avoided.

What's more, while the penis becomes a barrier after toughening, vaginal mucosa, also commonly with micro tears from intercourse, remains "vulnerable" by their description. In truth, circ'ing the male sets up a scenario where vaginal mucosa IS in fact more vulnerable than it was naturally, but somehow the female is forgotten in this. Their description is the PC approach. Avoidance of the truth: you can see why PC is always fucked up. The truth is we're all vulnerable, penile foreskin is neither a danger nor a panacea, and culture is the larger issue in third world countries. But an easy fix is the choice, when the truth stops them dead in the water.

[alex-oh]

Originally Posted by Mister.Barbecue

From a news article: "In addition, sexual intercourse may cause tiny tears in the foreskin, allowing the virus into the bloodstream."

What does this mean? Where are these tears supposed to come from?

This is pretty much just misinformation as it was used. These tiny tears could actually only occur in the very few men who have phimosis or (rarer still) frenulum breve. These uncommon problems are easily fixed (in over 90% of cases) with regular gentle stretching. (It's kind'a like FR but just to widen the foreskin opening).

This is a very common tactic of circumcision promoters to generalize the problems that a very small number of men have with their foreskins to everyone.

These two problems explain most of the men circumcised as adults too. These disorders are why they were "happy" with the procedure. They had phimosis and didn't know to (or want to) stretch it out to fix it. When they're circumcised, their glans are often still oversensitive for a long time after. Their experience with circumcision is so insanely inapplicable to the experience of infant circumcision, that it's despicable of them to support routine infant cutting as though they know something about that experience.

[Minuteman]

"Celebrating World AIDS Day: A Commitment to Country Ownership" blog.AIDS.gov 26 November 2012.

http://blog.aids.gov/2012/11/celebra...ownership.html

Excerpt:

By Nils Daulaire, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Office of Global Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
...
Strengthening country capabilities means enhancing the ability of government, civil society, and community institutions to manage and implement HIV programs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) supported some of the first PEPFAR care and treatment programs in 2004. Managed by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the programs provided antiretroviral therapy to more than 500 facilities in PEPFAR countries by 2009.

As PEPFAR entered its second phase in 2009, CDC, HRSA, and other implementing agencies sought to transition responsibility for these services from the international NGOs to local organizations. Working jointly with Catholic Relief Services and other international NGOs, ministries of health, universities, and local organizations, CDC and HRSA developed strategies to transfer technical and managerial capability to local partners on the ground in several sub-Saharan African countries.
...
Strengthening the healthcare workforce is another important component of local capacity and better health systems. HHS supports programs to strengthen the healthcare workforce in PEPFAR countries. For example, PEPFAR’s Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI) helps five countries develop and strengthen their nursing and midwifery education programs. Its Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) links African and U.S. academic institutions so they can develop, enhance and expand medical education programs in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries. CDC’s Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) and Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) build local capacity within Ministries of Health to respond to disease outbreaks, as well as conduct laboratory analysis, surveillance, and evaluation in PEPFAR and other countries.