2019 US Conference on AIDS focused on ending the HIV epidemic in America - Metro Weekly

-

USCA — Photo courtesy of NMAC

“There are 1.2 million Americans living with HIV right now,” says Paul Kawata. “Every year, there are about 40,000 new cases.” As the executive director of the AIDS/HIV advocacy organization NMAC for thirty years, Kawata pays close attention to the numbers. Next weekend, the organization will continue a more than two-decades-long tradition of producing the U.S. Conference on AIDS.

This year’s conference, in Washington from Sept. 5 to 8, will bring together more than 3,000 experts, researchers, advocates, service providers, and other professionals for more than 160 workshops and four plenaries focusing on the latest developments in HIV research, prevention, and treatment, with special program tracks focusing on HIV’s impact on specific communities.

The overall focus of the conference centers around federal efforts to effectively “end” the HIV epidemic in America by reducing new HIV-positive diagnoses to below 3,000 per year by 2030.

“In less than 30 days after the start of the conference, our nation will begin building plans in 57 jurisdictions across the country,” says Kawata. “This is, at some level, a very historic moment, because we have never ended an epidemic without a vaccine or a cure.”

Ending the epidemic will rely heavily on biomedical interventions, such as the U=U campaign connecting HIV-positive individuals with medication to reduce their viral loads to undetectable levels, and the use of Truvada, or PrEP, by HIV-negative individuals to block transmission of the virus.

USCA — Photo courtesy of NMAC

To help spread awareness, NMAC will be hosting a “Demonstration Ball” as part of its opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 5. The ball will celebrate the influence of ballroom culture on the HIV epidemic and was inspired by a recent storyline from Pose about HIV in the African-American gay and trans communities.

NMAC will also host a screening of the documentary 5B, about the first hospital ward in San Francisco to deal with AIDS patients on a large-scale basis, as well as a discussion with actors from the LGBTQ TV series Noah’s Arc, and performances by various artists, including America’s Got Talent star Branden James and Canadian drag queen Jade Elektra.

“NMAC believes that culture is how we learn about different communities,” says Kawata. “We use culture as a way to train the movement about the communities that are hardest hit by HIV and how we need to reach them.”

The U.S. Conference on AIDS is Thursday, Sept. 5 to Sunday, Sept. 8 at the Marriott Marquis Washington, 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. For more information, visit www.2019usca.org.



https://ift.tt/2L32qwq

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rash behind ear: Causes, other symptoms, and treatment - Medical News Today

-
Image
A rash behind the ear may occur due to a variety of different medical conditions. Certain viral infections and autoimmune diseases may cause a rash behind the ear in both children and adults. While some causes, such as contact dermatitis, are not concerning, other causes, including rubella, may be more serious. In this article, we look at some of the causes of a rash behind the ear, as well as the other symptoms that they may produce and how to treat them. Contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction to a particular substance. If an allergy-inducing substance comes into contact with the skin behind the ear, a rash can form. Allergens that may cause contact dermatitis behind the ears include: shampoos soaps other hair care products For example, hair dye products contain an ingredient called paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is a common contact allergen. Symptoms Contact dermatitis causes itchiness, dryness, and flaking of the skin that came into contact with the allergen. Diagnosis A doc
Read more

Robert Zakar gives back to community

-
Image
tb in pregnancy :: Article Creator TB Fight Goes To Vulnerable Communities Tuberculosis (TB) is still the most deadly infectious disease in the world, killing over 4 000 people every day, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). As such, in compliance with the latest WHO Latent TB Infection (LTBI) guidelines, in 2020, the Ministry of Health rolled out short-course rifapentine-based TB Preventive Therapies (TPT) nationally as one way of providing equitable access to TB preventive therapy to all those eligible. Latent TB infection means that not everyone who is infected with TB immediately develops the TB disease. Some people go on to have a dormant form of TB that can be reactivated over time or when the immune system is suppressed. So treating LTBI will prevent the person from getting active TB. However, most people in rural areas are still not aware of how they can access the treatment. To complement government's efforts in respo
Read more

Download Communicable Disease School Nurse Guidance

-
Image
toenail bacterial infection :: Article Creator How Do I Get Rid Of Toenail Fungus? Q: It looks like I have fungus beneath my toenail, but how can I be sure? Does toenail fungus go away on its own? Yellowing, brittle and unusual-looking toenails can be a sign that a fungal nail infection, called onychomycosis, has taken root. Experts say these infections don't go away on their own and can easily spread from person to person without treatment. "Fungus tends to be greedy," said Dr. Boni Elewski, chair of the department of dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. If you pick it up from close contact with someone who is infected or by walking barefoot in a locker room, for instance, it can then crawl under your toenail and spread into the nail itself, she said. Wearing moist, sweaty shoes can encourage the fungus to grow. Toenail fungus affects an estimated one in 10 people worldwide, and becomes more common with age — afflicti
Read more