Forgotten Ones: Report Examines Challenges For Aging Latinos With HIV
A report said to be the first of its kind examines the challenges facing older Latinos living with HIV. The Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Health Network released a report on Wednesday entitled “Olvidados,â which means âForgotten Onesâ in English. It delves into the interlocking factors that make this segment of the population more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, including language barriers, sexual orientation, and access to quality healthcare. July 7, 2017 by John Paul Brammer Washington Times
âWe started a literature review on what has been done with Latinos who are getting older with HIV, and there wasnât a lot,â Director of Research and Evaluation for the Latino Commission Dr. David Garcia told NBC Latino. âThey also excluded individuals that primarily speak Spanish. We selected people who are often forgotten in research…Continue to full article here
Lily&Q’s say…The article above, and the links included in it are a must read to start understanding the complexity & impact of HIV/AIDS on the Latino community in the United States.
We know that people of color are disproportionably impacted by HIV, and stemming transmission is not easy to tease out. In a community where values and morals are strict, one may act on impulses outside the home/community, but inside the home not acknowledge the behaviors-Much less get tested & seek treatment.
HIV wants YOU-No matter what your skin color is…So being informed, and testing regularly is the way to stay HIV/STI Free!Knowing your STI/HIV status is SEXY!
Lily&Q’s say…Next is a great news article and a link worth bookmarking for future reference regarding the global scorecard on reducing HIV transmission & care options for HIV+’s. Countries can be compared side-by-side with some shocking “bet you wouldn’t have guessed” facts about the HIV epidemic around the world.
For first time in history, half of all people with HIV are getting treatment
A new update on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic offers âscorecardsâ for countries that starkly highlight successes in green and failures in red
for an example, see here. By Jon Cohen Jul. 20, 2017 , 4:00 AM
Collectively, the world receives high marks for its HIV/AIDS efforts from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
It notes in
Ending AIDS UN Global Report says that 19.5 million of the estimated 36.7 million people living with the virus now receive lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. This is the first time
in history that more than half the infected people are being treated.
But several countries are falling far short of the UNAIDS prescription of what it takes to bring an epidemic to an end, which essentially requires slowing
the rate of virus transmission to the point that new infections peter out. Continue reading this article here
Lily&Q’s say…âpeter outâ No pun intended LOL! The âpeterâ or is that Peter is still the number one way HIV is passed from one person to another-Just saying!
These numbers are a good start, but HIV still remains an unseen, incideous virus that doesn’t care how it is spread, by whom or to whomever!
Vigilence, and education are the best defense…Along with knowing one’s STI/HIV status, Playing safe, and educating others about STI/HIV transmission risks and how to be more protected slows up the virus.
Test often and know how to keep your partners safer too! If you have HIV it is up to you to keep it to yourself, and know how not to transmit the virus. Take responsibility and be part of the CURE!
HIV prevention dapivirine vaginal ring found safe and acceptable in US adolescent girls
A vaginal ring that researchers are hopeful will be approved as a method for preventing HIV in women was found to be safe and acceptable in teen girls, according to results of a study conducted in the United States and reported at the 9th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2017) today in Paris. The study is the first to evaluate the ring, which contains an antiretroviral (ARV) drug called dapivirine and is used for a month at a time, in girls under age 18. July 25, 2017
The dapivirine ring has already been shown to be both safe and to help protect against HIV among women ages 18-45 in two Phase III trials – ASPIRE , which was conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), and The Ring Study, led by the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), a non-profit organization that also developed the dapivirine ring. Together, the two trials enrolled more than 4,500 women from four African countries. IPM is seeking regulatory approval of the ring for adult women of the same age.
If approved, the dapivirine ring would be the first biomedical prevention product exclusively for women. The new study, known as MTN-023/IPM 030, was designed to provide the kind of information about safety and tolerability that regulatory authorities would need to expand approval of the ring to also include girls under age 18.
MTN-023/IPM 030 was conducted by the MTN in collaboration with the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN), which is also funded by the NIH. MTN is planning to launch a second trial later this year, called REACH, that will collect safety data among adolescent girls and young women in Africa, who are among the most vulnerable population at risk of acquiring HIV.
“If the ring is approved for women older than age 18, it’s imperative that we have the data in hand to show that the ring is safe to use in younger women as well,” explained Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., principal investigator of the MTN, and professor and vice chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “HIV doesn’t distinguish between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old. Access to safe and effective HIV prevention shouldn’t either. Young women of all ages deserve to be protected.”
MTN-023/IPM 030 enrolled 96 girls ages 15-17 at six U.S. sites: two affiliated with the MTN (University of Pittsburgh and the University of Alabama at Birmingham) and four affiliated with the ATN (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis; The Fenway Institute in Boston; Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.; and University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine). The study was conducted between July 2014 and July 2016…Continue to read entire article here
Lily&Q’s say…Finding a trusted, reliable source that you can talk openly and honestly to, like an STI/HIV Test site coordinator, a member of a Medical Clinic or another person who you trust to give you support to make good decisions when it comes to your own health issues including safer sex practices is necessary in a world that DOESN’T HAVE YOUR BACK! Test often, test for all STI’s including HIV, and Know Your Status-Be part of the Cure for HIV/STI’s and know how to prevent transmission. It is up to YOU, ME, and THEM to make a DIFFERENCE!