CDC awards $55 million for HIV prevention among gay, bisexual and transgender youth of color

via NCHHSTP Newsroom

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today awarded $55 million over five years to 34 community-based organizations (CBOs) to expand HIV prevention services for young gay and bisexual men of color, transgender youth of color, and their partners. The awards expand upon a previous program to reach these populations with an increase of $10 million to fund a larger number of community organizations. The average award for each organization is approximately $300,000 per year.

“On this National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we are reminded of the urgency of the HIV epidemic in the United States and the dramatic impact among gay and bisexual men, who account for more than 60 percent of new infections,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. “We must also recognize that the epidemic cannot be overcome without effectively addressing the severe and rising toll of HIV infections among gay and bisexual men of color, who continue to be hardest hit by this disease.”

Recent data show that young men who have sex with men (MSM) of color are at particularly high and increasing risk of HIV infection. According to CDC estimates released in August, between 2006 and 2009, the annual number of new HIV infections increased 48 percent among young black MSM. Among Latinos, men who have sex with men are by far the most severely impacted, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all new infections. Nearly half of these infections among Latino MSM occurred in the youngest age group (aged 13-29). Transgender people are also severely affected by HIV. It is estimated that 28 percent of transgender people are HIV-infected.

The new CDC awards are designed to enable CBOs with strong links to these populations to meet their specific HIV prevention needs. As part of these awards, each organization will be required to provide specific prevention services. These include providing HIV testing to a total of more than 90,000 young gay and bisexual men and transgender youth of color, with a goal of identifying more than 3,500 previously unrecognized HIV infections (over the five-year funding period) – and linking those who are HIV-infected to care and prevention services. CBOs will also carry out proven behavioral change HIV prevention programs and distribute condoms to young gay and bisexual men and transgender youth of color who are at high risk for HIV or are HIV-infected.

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Young people lead HIV prevention revolution: AU

via  The Zimbabwean, by Francis Rwodzi

Young people are leading the prevention revolution by increasingly acting to protect themselves from HIV said the African Union (AU) during the pre-summit African Youth Forum that was held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week.

The “prevention revolution” is a global commitment by UNAIDS and its co-sponsors to galvanize leaderships at all levels, communities and all key stakeholders and development partners to halt the HIV epidemic-the ultimate vision is zero new infections , zero discrimination and zero deaths.

The revolution requires greatly intensified efforts to address the needs of all those at risk of infection, and of everyone living with HIV, with quality, scaled up programmes based on evidence of what works.

The AU said that only by stemming the tide of new HIV infections can those already HIV positive be assured life-time care, treatment and support and efforts are targeted at those countries and populations where the most new infections are occurring, especially the high prevalence countries in eastern and southern Africa.

Statistics released by the AU revealed that although there were 1.8 million new HIV infections in sub Saharan Africa during 2009, 22 countries reported a prevalence decline of more than 25 percent. The statistics showed that the number of young people living with HIV is falling in 13 African countries, a tremendous achievement on which African government can build on.

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[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

MTV Drama Raising HIV Awareness in Africa

From CNN, by Tom Hayes

"It's the story of morning afters and sweet departures...and the stains we leave on each other." -From the trailer of Shuga, a cutting-edge MTV drama that's been a smash hit in Africa.

For many young Africans, the three-part TV series about a group of students in Nairobi living under the constant specter of HIV/AIDS is the story of their own lives -- and is the reason "Shuga" took the continent by storm when it debuted late last year.

Actress Sharon Olago, who played promiscuous party girl Violet in "Shuga," believes the Kenyan show has been so successful because it mirrors the complexities of modern young life, without falling into a moralistic, conventional narrative on safe sex.

"'Shuga' did not exaggerate anything, it relived what Kenya is," says Olago. "That is why it got the fame it did, that is why people jumped into it, because people saw themselves in it."

Set and filmed on location in Nairobi, the soap opera came about after UNICEF teamed up with MTV to create a health campaign to impact the lives of youths in Kenya, where an estimated 6.5 percent of its population lives with HIV.

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