Pride in Living Affected

In response to recent news from the FDA regarding the use of the drug Truvada for prevention, Mapping Pathways U.S. partners AIDS United and AIDS Foundation of Chicago are presenting a webinar focusing on the ARV-based strategy PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis.) Please join us on Tuesday, June 19th at 3:00 pm EST for this webinar by emailing zfellows1@aidsunited.org to register. During the webinar, key findings from the Mapping Pathways online survey and stakeholder interviews will be presented to help illuminate the wide-ranging perspectives of advocates, clinicians, people living with HIV, policy makers and others regarding PrEP. While the U.S. context will be highlighted, comparisons/contrasts will be drawn with the opinions of individuals in South Africa and India. Following the presentation, a moderated discussion will ask webinar participants to reflect on their particular jurisdictions and to share their own PrEP assessments. We hope you will be able to join us for this timely conversation. Community Education Group Speaks by A. Toni Young I've Been Thinking... We are a little more than six weeks away from the opening of the International AIDS Conference, which takes place July 22-27 in Washington, DC. The abstracts have been submitted. The meetings have been scheduled. The speakers have been selected (congratulations to Phill Wilson and Linda Scruggs). Marches have been planned and fundraising is nearly complete. But what happens on July 28th? The theme of this year's conference is "Turning the Tide Together." The President and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy have called upon us to "end the epidemic." But when we wake up on July 28th it's unlikely that our resources will be any greater. Collaborations may or may not be any more imminent, and there's no guarantee that we'll be any closer to a cure. However, there is one thing we can do on the morning of July 28th. We can think more strategically about the future. If we are to end HIV/AIDS in the United States, we must take a different approach. TEAM NMAC has been hosting a series of workgroups to look at how we actually end the epidemic. What datasets do we need? How much will it actually cost? How long will it take to get to zero? This is an amazing real-world exercise to get to what we "really" need to be doing. As Dr. David Holtgrave recently said, "if you say 'here is how we end the epidemic,' you have to be willing to pay for it." Don't get me wrong. I think ending the epidemic is possible; but it will not be cheap. And when I describe the costs of ending the epidemic, I'm not counting solely in dollars and cents. The costs include the time and energy needed to develop systems of expanded health care and service provision for the most disenfranchised Americans - the poor, women, and people of color. We must develop systems that will not only link Americans to care but will ensure that they stay in care. After all, ending the epidemic is not just a matter of science; it's also about behavior. Disparities among America's poor, women and people of color are expansive whether they have HIV, Hepatitis, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, hypertensive disorders, or mental health ailments. We must also contend with the disparities in education, employment and housing if we're going to end HIV and create a healthier America. On July 28th, our organizations must take the first steps to expand to meet the growing needs of our communities. This may mean greater partnerships, collaborations and expansion into other disease areas. Only then will we truly turn the tide together. Sincerely, A. Toni Young Community Education Group