Keepingitreal

D.C.'s AIDS Dollars Squandered

In a city ravaged by the highest rate of AIDS cases in the nation, the D.C. Health Department paid millions to nonprofit groups that delivered substandard services or failed to account for any work at all, even as sick people searched for care or died waiting. More than $1 million in AIDS money went to a housing group whose ailing boarders sometimes struggled without electricity, gas or food. A supervisor said she was ordered to create records for ghost employees. About $400,000 was paid to a nonprofit organization, launched by a man who once ran one of the District's largest cocaine rings, for a promised job-training center that has never opened. More than $500,000 was earmarked for a housing program whose executive director had a string of convictions for theft, drugs and forgery. After the D.C. Inspector General's Office could find no evidence that he was operating an AIDS nonprofit group, the city terminated the grant but never sought repayment. All told, the Health Department's HIV/AIDS Administration awarded more than $25 million from 2004 to 2008 to nonprofit agencies marked by questionable spending, a lack of clients, or lapses in record-keeping and care, a 10-month Washington Post investigation found. Many of the groups have since closed or are no longer providing AIDS services. Across the city, the sick are suffering. Renee Paige, 50, once threw birthday parties for her two daughters in her apartment in Southeast Washington, where she'd cook beef stew for elderly neighbors and always had bus fare for a friend. But AIDS and two bouts of pneumonia had left her weak, homeless and unable to care for herself. She came to a community meeting in April after spending the night on a park bench in heavy rain, with no place to go."I have AIDS," she told the group, "and I am soaking wet."Weeks later, she died alone, on the bench, one mile from the HIV/AIDS Administration and within two miles of a dozen nonprofit groups that help people with AIDS. "I couldn't understand," said Keena Stewart, who had known Paige for 15 years. "How could she die like that?" More than 15,000 people have HIV or AIDS in the District, 3 percent of the population older than 12. For black men, the rate is more than double, at 6.5 percent -- one of every 15 people. CONTINUE READING...

VA looking into possible contamination at medical facilities

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an investigation into whether there is a connection between improperly sterilized endoscopy equipment and a veteran's positive HIV test.This comes after more than 10,000 veterans were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis at three VA facilities while undergoing colonoscopies and other procedures with equipment that had not been properly cleaned. The VA sent letters to those veterans offering free testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV."The VA prides itself on being accountable, and we are extremely concerned about this matter, and as a result we have initiated an investigation," Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the VA's undersecretary for health, said in a news release Friday. "We have an obligation to provide those who have served and sacrificed for our Nation the care they deserve."Along with the positive HIV test, the VA says 16 other veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C at two VA facilities. Of all the 17 positive test results, 11 were at the VA's Murfreesboro, Tennessee, facility, and six were from the VA's Augusta, Georgia, hospital. Thousands of other veterans are being tested at the VA hospital in Miami, and the VA says it is waiting to verify results there.So far, 3,174 veterans have been notified of their test results. VA officials decline to say where the veteran who tested positive for HIV was treated. Watch more on the contamination controversy »Officials stress that the positive results don't necessarily mean the equipment is to blame. The VA is conducting an epidemiological investigation at the facilities to determine if the veterans who have tested positive for hepatitis have similar strains of the virus. SOURCE:CNN.COM

HIV looks like me...AB Dior is an Ambassador for Change

Condoms not answer to AIDS, Pope says

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – Pope Benedict XVI said on his way to Africa today that condoms were not the answer in the continent's fight against HIV. It was his first explicit statement on an issue that has divided even clergy working with AIDS patients.Benedict had never directly addressed condom use. He has said that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease."You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he will begin a seven-day pilgrimage on the continent. "On the contrary, it increases the problem.''Some priests and nuns working with those living with HIV/AIDS question the church's opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa.Benedict's first papal trip to Africa will take him to Cameroon and Angola. Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic Church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches.The pope also said today that he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn.He said that while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.Describing the current crisis as the consequence of "a deficit of ethics in economic structures," the pope said, "It is here that the church can make a contribution."On the plane, Benedict also dismissed the notion that he was facing increasing opposition and isolation within the church, particularly after an outreach to ultraconservatives that led to his lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop."The myth of my solitude makes me laugh," the pope said, adding that he can count on a network of friends and aides whom he sees every day.In a letter to Catholic bishops released last week, the pope made an unusual public acknowledgment of Vatican mistakes and turmoil in his church over the rehabilitation of Bishop Richard Williamson.While acknowledging mistakes were made in handling the affair, Benedict said he was saddened that he was criticized "with open hostility" even by those who should have known better. SOURCE:THE STAR

STANDING-N-TRUTH: BREAKING THE SILENCE

Can a Pill a Day Prevent HIV?

What if those most at risk for HIV could take a pill that would reduce the risk of infection? The American Foundation for AIDS Research’s public policy office brought together a panel of experts to discuss the implications of just such a scenario at a recent Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C., on December 4. “We are fighting an uphill battle, and we must vigorously pursue new strategies,” said Richard Wolitski, acting director of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For every person on antiretroviral therapy, 2.5 people are newly infected with HIV, according to Wolitski. Every day there are 7,400 new infections worldwide; in the United States there is a new HIV infection every 9.5 minutes. “At this point in time, we do not have the resources to bring this epidemic under control,” said panelist Carl Dieffenbach, director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. “Therefore we must turn to novel prevention strategies,” such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.The experimental technique involves administering anti-HIV drugs before possible exposure to HIV in the hope that they will lower the chances of infection among those at high risk -- a proposition currently being tested in ongoing clinical trials overseen by Dieffenbach in Botswana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States. Initial results are expected within the next 12 to 18 months. While the viability of PrEP is unclear, the concept is not an unusual one: People use statins to prevent heart disease, tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer in high-risk individuals, and birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancy. And in the field of HIV health care, “antiretrovirals have drastically reduced mother-to-child transmissions. So can these drugs now be used to prevent HIV in high-risk populations?” asked amfAR senior policy and medical adviser Susan J. Blumenthal, MD, the panel moderator. SOURCE:HIVPLUSMAG.COM

Number of HIVers Spreading the Virus Drops

The annual HIV transmission rate in the United States has declined dramatically over the course of the epidemic, according to a newly published study conducted jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins University.The annual rate of HIV transmission declined from 44 of every 100 people who had HIV in 1984 to 6.6 of every 100 HIV patients in the early 1990s, according to the study. Today, the annual transmission rate is about 5 per 100 HIV patients. The rate declined by 89% from 1984 to 2006, and by 33% from 1997 to 2006.“For every 100 persons living with HIV today, five or fewer will transmit the virus to an uninfected person in a given year,” said study leader David Holtgrave of Johns Hopkins. The findings, based on the CDC’s latest annual data on new HIV infections, “reflect the success of prevention efforts across the nation,” said coauthor Richard Wolitski of the CDC.“I think it’s really the result of the combination -- HIV prevention efforts that include HIV testing, prevention programs for people who are living with HIV and those who are at risk for HIV, as well as the effects of HIV treatment that have prolonged the lives of so many people living with HIV,” Wolitski said. “These data really show that people living with HIV are taking steps to be responsible and protect others.” “However, despite this success, we cannot forget that new HIV infections are increasing among gay and bisexual men and that African-Americans and Hispanics continue to experience disproportionate and unacceptably high rates of HIV and AIDS,” Wolitski said. “The fight against HIV is far from over.”
The research letter, titled “Updated Annual HIV Transmission Rates in the United States, 1977–2006,” was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. SOURCE:HIVPLUSMAG.COM

World Aids Day: Current HIV/AIDS Facts You Should Know

Facts about HIV/AIDS

GLOBAL
-33.2 million people now live with HIV or AIDS.
-In 2007, approximately 2.5 million people were infected with HIV.
-Every day, over 6800 people become infected with HIV - almost five people per minute.
-5700 people die from AIDS every day.
-One child dies every minute.
-15 million children around the world have been orphaned by AIDS, losing one or both parents to the disease.
-Every fifteen seconds, another person age 15-24 becomes infected with HIV/AIDS.

US
-Roughly one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
-Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.5 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 524,000 have died of AIDS.
-At least 40,000 people are infected each year.
-African Americans account for 48% of new HIV infections.
-AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25 to 34 and HIV rates among Hispanic women are increasing.
-The number of women living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades.
-At least half of all new infections are among people under the age of 25.
-Washington, DC has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the United States - one in 20 people are living with HIV or AIDS.

World AIDS Day: Bad Laws Could Be Pandemic’s Setback

An increasing number of countries worldwide are making spreading HIV a crime, according to a new report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Health officials fear the trend could undermine gains made in fighting the AIDS pandemic and provoke a surge in cases. Globally, about 33 million people are thought to have HIV and nearly 3 million people are newly infected every year. "If the law is applied badly, this could set us back and do incredible damage," said Paul de Lay, an AIDS expert at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, who was not involved in the report. De Lay said the laws could result in forced testing and drive the epidemic underground as people hide their HIV status, allowing the virus to spread unnoticed. According to Planned Parenthood, 58 countries worldwide have laws that criminalize HIV or use existing laws to prosecute people for transmitting the virus. Thirty-three more countries are considering similar legislation. Since 2005 seven countries in West Africa have passed HIV laws. In Benin simply exposing others to HIV is a crime, even if transmission doesn't occur. And in Tanzania intentional transmission of the virus can lead to life imprisonment. Many of the laws in Africa were passed after a meeting in Chad in 2004 sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the world's biggest funder of AIDS programs, and attended by U.N. officials. "The U.N. was definitely remiss to allow this to happen," said Kevin Osborne, a senior HIV adviser at IPPF and one of the report's authors. De Lay said UNAIDS found out about the meeting only after it happened. But poor countries aren't the only ones using these laws. In the United States 32 states have laws criminalizing HIV transmission. Experts estimate that thousands of people have been charged across the country with spreading HIV. Since 2001, 16 people in the United Kingdom have been prosecuted for spreading HIV. In 2005 a woman in Canada was charged with criminal negligence and aggravated assault for passing HIV while pregnant to her baby. She did not tell her doctors that she had the virus and did not receive the medications necessary to prevent it from infecting her child. She was given a six-month conditional sentence followed by three years of probation. In countries like Britain, Canada, and the United States, which are major donors of efforts to fight HIV in Africa, such cases are particularly unfortunate, many experts say. CONTINUE READING...

HIV scare puts Mo. school in uncertain territory

NORMANDY, Mo. – Students at a suburban St. Louis high school headed to the gymnasium for HIV testing this week after an infected person told health officials as many as 50 teenagers might have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS. Officials refused to give details on who the person was or how the students at Normandy High School might have been exposed, but the district is consulting with national AIDS organizations as it tries to minimize the fallout and prevent the infection — and misinformation — from spreading. "There's potential for stigma for all students regardless of whether they're positive or negative," Normandy School District spokesman Doug Hochstedler said Thursday. "The board wants to be sure all children are fully educated." A teacher in a neighboring district singled out a girl who dates someone at Normandy High and instructed her to get tested, Hochstedler said. A competing school's football team initially balked at playing Normandy's 8-0 team. Jasmine Lane, a 16-year-old sophomore, said her boyfriend from a neighboring high school broke up with her on learning of the news — after she bought them tickets to homecoming. "I cried so hard," she said. Hochstedler said that as far as he knows, no other district has had to handle a similar situation. Students at the school of 1,300 are being tested voluntarily, and the district is getting advice on the best ways to support kids in crisis. Sophomore Tevin Baldwin said that many of his classmates in this working-class city of about 5,000 residents want to transfer out of the district, which encompasses other towns. "Nobody knows what's going on," he said. The district declined to respond to his assertion. Marcus Holman, a 14-year-old freshman, said he never imagined HIV would become such a widespread threat at school. "I'm just trying to pass, get to the next grade, safely," he said. Normandy Superintendent Stanton Lawrence agreed that students remain focused on learning, despite concerns and distraction. There's no hysteria or panic, and school is running routinely, he said. "They recognize this situation is what it is, and doesn't mean school is over," he said. "Their concern is heightened, but we have to face it and do the responsible thing." The St. Louis County Health Department said last week that a positive HIV test raised concern that students at Normandy might have been exposed. The department is not saying whether the infected person was a student or connected with the school, only that the person indicated as many as 50 students may have been exposed. The Health Department also will not say how any exposure might have occurred. Health Department spokesman Craig LeFebvre has said the possibilities include sexual activity, intravenous drug use, piercings and tattoos. Hochstedler said the district doesn't know the person's identity, or even whether he or she is a student. "We do know there was some potential exposure between that person and students," he said. "We don't know the individual or the route of transmission." The district learned Oct. 9 of the potential exposure and within a business day worked out with the Health Department how to release the information and handle testing, he said. "They took a very proactive stance," he said. "There's no precedent for this."Students are being tested at six stations in the high school gymnasium, one class at a time. Only representatives from the Health Department are with the students, who are offered educational materials and a chance to ask questions before they are given an opportunity to be tested with a mouth swab, Hochstedler said. They may decline.CONTINUE READING...

Vitamin 'may blunt cancer drugs'

Vitamin C supplements may substantially reduce the benefit from a wide range of anti-cancer drugs, research suggests.Thirty to 70% less cancer cells in a lab were killed by a range of drugs, after pretreatment with vitamin C. Follow-up chemotherapy tests found tumours grew more rapidly in mice given cancer pretreated with vitamin C.Cancer Research reports the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center findings. The US researchers say the same mechanism may affect patient outcomes.Some studies have suggested that because vitamin C is an antioxidant it could be beneficial to cancer patients. The US team tested the impact of a form of vitamin C on the effectiveness of a range of anti-cancer drugs in tests on cancer cells in the lab. They found that every drug they tested did not work as well if cells were pretreated with vitamin C as they did on untreated cancer cells.Between 30% and 70% less cancer cells treated with vitamin C were killed, depending on the drug tested. Follow-up tests on mice showed that while chemotherapy kept untreated cancer in check, tumours grew more rapidly in mice that were given cancer pretreated with vitamin C.Some classes of cancer drugs produce molecules known as oxygen free radicals which can react with other molecules in the cancer cell, forcing its death.In theory, vitamin C could mop up the free radicals, keeping the cancer cell alive despite chemotherapy treatment. Boiler room -- However, the researchers found the key was not that the nutrient was neutralising free radicals.Instead, vitamin C appeared to protect tiny structures inside the cancer cells called mitochondria from damage.Mitochondria effectively form the energy-creating boiler room of a cell, and if damaged can lead to its death.Lead researcher Dr Mark Heaney said: "Vitamin C appears to protect the mitochondria from extensive damage, thus saving the cell."And whether directly or not, all anti-cancer drugs work to disrupt the mitochondria to push cell death."Previous research by the same team has shown that vitamin C seems to accumulate within cancer cells more than in normal cells.SOURCE:BBCNEWS

Sharp rise in HIV in Australia

Rates of HIV infection in Australia have increased by almost 50% in the past eight years, according to a report. The latest figures show that Australia now has about 10,000 cases of Aids, while more than 27,000 people are infected with HIV. Researchers say the rise has been fuelled by Australia's mining boom. They say wealthy miners and businessmen taking holidays overseas contract the virus through unprotected sex.Upward trend? Although HIV/Aids figures in Australia are relatively low by international standards, researchers are worried that this is part of a disturbing upward trend. Don Baxter, from the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations, says that although homosexual men account for most new cases, a growing number of heterosexuals have tested positive for HIV. "It appears to be chiefly men who are holidaying in South East Asia and Papua New Guinea, and having unprotected sex with women who must have been positive," he said. "The risk of a major outbreak in the population is probably not high. But again, we'll have to monitor this situation very closely over the coming years."Campaigners say that miners who have cashed in on the resources boom in Western Australia and Queensland have been responsible for a marked increase in the number of new HIV infections. Statistics have shown that even those in stable relationships can give in to temptation when they are away from their families in a foreign country with their workmates. A heady cocktail of exotic tropical locations, plentiful supplies of alcohol and money has often led to unprotected sex in brothels - and the catastrophic consequences that can follow. In Queensland, health officials in Cairns have said that a cluster of six middle-aged businessmen who had tested positive for HIV following trips to Papua New Guinea could be the beginning of a serious outbreak in the city.SOURCE:BBCNEWS

The Official Summer Takeover 2008

Feds cancel test of experimental AIDS vaccine

Federal researchers today dropped plans for a large-scale test of an experimental AIDS vaccine developed by the National Institutes of Health - the latest fallout from the failure last September of a similar candidate from drugmaker Merck & Co. that may have left some volunteers more vulnerable to HIV infection. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the decision to call off the proposed study was his alone, but followed months of meetings to debate the merits of proceeding with the experiment. After the Merck vaccine failed, Fauci first delayed and then scaled back the proposed $160 million test of the NIH vaccine. The trial was to be known as PAVE 100.Following months of discussions, backers of the scaled-back study hoped for the go ahead, but Fauci rejected the plan and asked study designers to propose a still "smaller, leaner, meaner" version of PAVE 100 that would cost less than $45 million.His decision took vaccine advocates by surprise. "We supported the scientific premise of the trial and believed that it was being designed in such a way that participants' safety would be protected to the fullest extent possible," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition in New York. Until the failure of the Merck candidate last fall, the NIH was just months away from launching its own study with 8,500 volunteers. Both vaccines were designed not so much to prevent HIV infection, but to stir up an immune response that would keep any infection in check - mimicking natural control of the virus that small numbers of people appear to have. An early look at the results of the Merck trial in September showed its vaccine failed on all fronts. It didn't protect against infection, and those who were vaccinated and infected anyway had no better immune control over HIV than those who had been given a placebo. Hope remained that the newer vaccine would be different. It had succeeded in studies with laboratory monkeys, whereas the Merck vaccine failed in similar animal trials. Also, the NIH vaccine was made of bits of viral DNA designed to stir up an immune response, while the Merck vaccine relied on an older technology that injected bits of protein. DNA vaccines are thought to be potentially more powerful. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

The half-a-million condoms giveaway

Oakland -- Half a million condoms are here in Oakland for the taking. The Flowers Heritage Foundation acquired one million latex prophylactics for a vast giveaway program in April - distributing them to local agencies such as the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Haight Ashbury Free Clinics and the Black Coalition on AIDS. But when those programs collected all they needed, the "Condom Room" at Flowers headquarters was still stacked with 500 boxes, each containing 1,000 of the rubber devices.The foundation was created by pharmacist Syl Flowers, whose company distributes AIDS drugs for a state program."We want to give something back to the community," said Gregory Edwards, executive director of the foundation. With the local condom cabinets full, Edwards has been shipping the goods to other places in need - as far away as Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, organizations seeking any amount of donated condoms to promote HIV prevention can call the foundation at (510) 587-2662.

The Cause: ALICIA IN AFRICA JOURNEY TO THE MOTHERLAND

It starts and ends with the actions of people. We are witnessing the complete annihilation of entire communities of people. Human beings, like you and me, infected with the deadliest virus known to man: HIV/AIDS. The virus has led to the deaths of millions of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. The most affected are children. This devastating disease has created over 13 million orphans in Africa alone. In fact, before AIDS hit Africa the word ‘orphan’ did not even exist. Africa has been called the cradle of civilization, where all life began. It is where our roots are. You could call it “Mother Africa”. The tragic irony is what the continent needs most is ‘Mothers’ fighting to keep their children alive in a place where one child dies every minute. This has become a race against time, not just for Africa, but for the entire human race. AND YET THE VIRUS CAN BE STOPPED. Through the use of life-saving antiretroviral drugs easily available in the West, but badly needed in Africa. These drugs provide treatment that has transformed the lives of people with HIV / AIDS in the West, returning them from sickness to health. But in Africa, fewer than 5% of children with HIV / AIDS. have access to these life-saving drugs. And parents are dying mercilessly in front of their children.

The Documentary

"Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland" has been given to you free of in hopes that Alicia's message will reach millions around the globe. Now that you’ve gone on the journey, you have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those you just met. 100% of what you donate will support the beautiful brothers and sisters you have met along your journey. Join Alicia in caring for these children and families. Become a monthly donor and do your part to end the unnecessary dying. You can provide care for a child with no parents or save the life or a mother living with AIDS.

Join Alicia in caring for these children and families. Become a monthly donor and do your part to end the unnecessary dying. You can provide care for a child with no parents or save the life or a mother living with AIDS.

If you are financially unable to make a donation, you can support Keep a Child Alive in many ways:

• Host a screening at a local event or family gathering
• Send an e-vite to as many friends, classmates, family members & neighbors as possible.
• Upload your video response to the film
• Host a fundraiser http://www.keepachildalive.org/howYouCanHelp/
• Start a KCA College Chapter! http://www.kcacollege.com
• E-mail Alicia to let her know how you feel! Alicia@keepachildalive.org

      

Start a virus to end a virus.  Join the journey today

Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica

Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica brings together poetry, essays, documentaries, short video interviews, music, photography and the interactive website LiveHopeLove.com. This project builds on the travels of poet and writer Kwame Dawes who returned to the country of his youth to speak with Jamaicans about the impact HIV has had on them and their country.  It is by far the most unique blending of Pulitzer Center coverage of a pressing underreported international issue – this one on America’s doorstep – and diverse media to reach the American public.

Study: AIDS Drug Lifts Heart Attack Risk

A commonly used AIDS drug appears to nearly double the risk of a heart attack, researchers said Tuesday. In a study published online by the medical journal Lancet, the researchers also said another less frequently used AIDS drug increased the chances of a heart attack by 50 percent. Experts said doctors should be aware of the increased risks, but they did not recommend that patients abandon the two drugs, Ziagen and Videx. AIDS drugs "are wonderful and lifesaving, but they do have toxicity problems," said Dr. Charlie Gilks, an AIDS treatment expert at the World Health Organization. "It may be that we can continue to use them, but we need to be aware of their long-term problems." AIDS drugs are used in combinations, so they could be swapped with others if necessary. Experts have suspected that AIDS drugs could cause heart problems, but no definitive evidence has been available. The drugs come with many side effects, including liver and kidney failure, chronic fatigue syndrome, hepatitis and jaundice. Jens D. Lundgren of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues analyzed data from more than 33,000 people infected with the AIDS virus in Europe, the United States and Australia to study the long-term effects of five AIDS drugs. The patients were followed for up to five years to see who had heart problems.In the 754 patients who had heart attacks, 192 had recently taken Ziagen, also known as abacavir, and 124 had recently taken Videx, also known as didanosine.Those who took Ziagen, included in many AIDS regimens worldwide, had twice the chances of a heart attack compared to patients on other AIDS drugs, the researchers reported. Those on Videx had a 50 percent higher chance. But the risk disappeared six months after patients stopped taking the drugs.Lundgren said patients already susceptible to heart problems were most at risk. For men over 40 who smoked and were overweight, the risk of a heart attack were as high as 20 percent. Taking Ziagen increased that risk to nearly 40 percent. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Statewide meth campaign launched

A state ad campaign targeted at men who have sex with men is under way. The ads feature a diverse group of gay and bisexual men talking about how methamphetamine use has affected their lives. Posters and billboards started appearing earlier this month, and a cable TV ad premiered Monday, March 17. The ads, which direct people to the Web site www.menotmeth.org, are part of a state-sponsored effort to prevent methamphetamine use and encourage current users to stop and seek help. The campaign cost about $11.6 million. The 30-second TV ad features tired-looking men appearing separately in a dark room, speaking to the camera as if it were a Web cam. One says, "I lost my job, I lost my man ...," and another tells viewers, "I lost my common sense and got HIV."The Web site invites users to submit their own stories, do a self-assessment, and find places to get help.The TV ad was directed by Joel Schumacher, who's also responsible for movies such as Batman Forever and St. Elmo's Fire . The ad is expected to air through September.Renee Zito, director of California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, expects the campaign to be effective."The whole campaign is about loss ... and the grief over the loss of your looks, your family, your friends, your career and then, finally, yourself," said Zito, who noted the campaign features real people. "It is depressing, and it was meant to be, because what research showed is in the gay community, what would be most effective would be to listen to a real person talk about the losses they've experienced in their life." SOURCE OF THIS STORY

And then there were two.

After a year of campaigning, the Democratic Party is about to make history by nominating either the first woman or the first African American as their standard bearer for the President of the United States. This week's presidential debate at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on CNN was a proud moment for America. Watching Senator Obama and Senator Clinton discuss the important issues of our day sent chills up my spine. It made me proud to be an American, something that has been difficult for many Americans over the last few years with torture, Katrina, and an Attorney General who believed political loyalty was more important than defending the constitution.The two candidates demonstrated a robust understanding on issues from Immigration and healthcare to national security and the war in Iraq. But for me, what wasn't talked about in their "conversation" rang louder than what was discussed. Through 17 debates in every corner of this country, AIDS has barely been mentioned. And it was not mentioned at all during the final debate between the remaining two Democratic contenders prior to super Tuesday. Here's why this is important to Black people. According to a November 26, 2007 report assessing the status of HIV/AIDS in Washington DC by the District's HIV/AIDS administration, our nation ' s capital has the worse AIDS epidemic of any capital city in the world,where 1 in every 50 people is known to be infected and 80% of the new cases identified between 2001 and 2006 in Washington D.C. were Black.During his final State of the Union address, President Bush said, "AIDS can be prevented. Anti-retroviral drugs can extend life for many years. ...seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many." He went on to say, "We have confronted, and will continue to confront, HIV/AIDS in our own country."The President asked Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean . But he did not ask for one additional penny to fight AIDS in Black America where according to the June 2007 CDC surveillance report, every hour of every day a Black person dies from AIDS and over two Black people get diagnosed with the disease.During their final debate, the Democratic contenders contrasted the President they would be with the President George W. Bush has been. On her Web site, Senator Clinton claims she will be ready to "Step in on Day one". On his website Senator Obama asks us to believe. "Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington D.C....I'm asking you to believe in yours."A discussion about AIDS is not just a discussion about some peripheral issue. HIV/AIDS is the preeminent health issue in Black America. It is a civil rights issue. It is a social justice issue. It is an Urban renewal issue. HIV/AIDS undermines Black America's ability to manifest the change the candidates are talking about. To not talk about AIDS is to fundamentally demonstrate that you either don't understand what is going on in our communities or as Kanye West said about one President, you don't care about Black people. Either one must be unacceptable to Black voters. SOURCE OF THIS STORY