REMINDER: The next meeting of The DC Center HIV Prevention Working Group will take place Wednesday June 24th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St. NW Suite 350.
The National Minority AIDS Council, along with the AIDS Institute, National Association of People with AIDS, and National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors invites you to a presentation by Dr. Hader on the state of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Washington DC. We ask that you bring all your agency’s staff and their families. It is a very eye opening report that will both shock you and demand your action.
By Darryl Fears, Washington Post, Tuesday, June 2, 2009
On her drives from one end of the District to the other, Anita Hawkins is struck by the rarity with which she sees billboards or bus stop advertisements telling residents that AIDS is a major health threat in the city.
"I live in D.C., and now I don't see it as visibly as nine years ago," when the virus was killing mostly gay men and the city government mobilized to combat the disease, said Hawkins, an assistant professor at Morgan State University. "We had this big push, and then what happened?"
Hawkins is on to something. Despite evidence showing that advertising increases AIDS awareness, there's almost no marketing to inform District residents of the problem's magnitude.
A report by the city's HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) says 3 percent of the District's population has HIV and AIDS, the worst prevalence rate in the nation, easily surpassing the 1 percent rate of infection that makes up a severe epidemic.
The problem is probably worse than the report says. Researchers did not count people who are infected but untested. Shannon L. Hader, the HAA's director, estimated that the actual rate is 5 percent.
In the fall, the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice sharply criticized the city's AIDS awareness effort, saying in a report that it lacked the urgency needed to address such a large epidemic. "You should definitely expect more," said Phill Wilson, head of the Black AIDS Institute, which works to reduce infection in black communities.
City officials say a sustained social marketing blitz is coming.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration -- alarmed by research showing that heterosexuals in highly infected areas engage in unprotected sex under the mistaken belief that straight people are not at risk -- committed $500,000 annually for five years for a marketing campaign, Hader said.
But there's doubt over whether HAA can mount a meaningful campaign in the expensive advertising market with that small amount. To be effective, advertising experts say, Hader needs millions more from Fenty (D) or more free public service announcements from television and radio stations, billboard companies and Metro.
"This should not be simply a public-health effort," Hader said. "This should be a community effort helped by the folks who have the space."
It's unclear how aggressively the city has sought public service ads. A spokesman for one local television station, WRC (Channel 4), said no one in the NBC affiliate's advertising division recalls being approached by HAA.
"We feel this is an area where a great deal more needs to be done," said Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, a nonprofit group that addresses civic issues. "We believe it's a leadership issue. I mean Fenty, in part, but there's more than one leader in the city."
Another activist, A. Toni Young, defended the city, saying an ad campaign by HAA last year played a strong role in calling attention to an underutilized program that provides free medication to people with HIV and AIDS. Enrollment in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program increased by 50 percent after ads aired on television and radio and were posted on billboards and public transportation, said Young, executive director of the Community Education Group, which engages in AIDS-related social marketing.
"It was very effective," Young said.
Without the support groups and social networks backed by the HAA, advertising would have a short reach, Young said. "To batter HAA has been a fashionable thing to do, but if you took a bus across the river on Pennsylvania Avenue, you would see ads for the Act Against AIDS campaign," Young said.
The Act Against AIDS campaign was started last month -- by the Obama administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not the city. But a couple of weeks ago, the HAA started experimenting with its marketing approaches.
The agency launched Realtalk, a promotion aimed at youths. A poster tells them to "drop in for some fun at the Freestyle Youth Center," at 651 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, where they can get free tests for HIV and venereal diseases that can facilitate HIV transmission. They also can get information about other test sites and where to pick up free condoms.
The HAA's office on New York Avenue abounds with AIDS-related posters that have faded from view: "Know Your Facts," "Come Together DC -- Get Screened for HIV," "Sex With One Means Sex With All" and "A Million Ways to Stop HIV: One Million Free Condoms for DC," a giveaway campaign two years ago.
Next month, the HAA plans to announce a marketing campaign aimed at heterosexual couples, said the agency's spokesman, Michael Kharfen, who is also in charge of marketing. The promotion will implore sexually active straight couples to get tested and to know their partner's health status. Heterosexual sex is the fastest-rising mode of HIV transmission in the city, particularly among black residents in wards 6, 7 and 8.
Spreading the word about HIV and AIDS is difficult because of its stigma. Infected people say they feel isolated because of the illness, and straight people say they don't want to be caught with a prevention brochure or researching the disease on the Internet because it might suggest homosexuality, a taboo in the black community.
The HAA will buy space on billboards and public transportation, but broader marketing will depend on public service ads. "We could wipe out our entire budget by buying a few ads on television and newspapers," Kharfen said. "We can't afford it."
Tina Hoff, vice president and director of Media Entertainment Partnerships for the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the foundation has gotten around the expense of advertising by working closely with MTV, Black Entertainment Television and Spanish-speaking Univision to urge minorities and young people to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
The marketing challenge faced by the District reflects a nationwide trend, according to a survey released last month by Kaiser. Americans who said they had "heard, seen or read a lot" about HIV and AIDS in the United States fell from 70 percent in 2004 to 45 percent this year. Those who specifically said they've viewed "a lot" of AIDS-related messaging fell from 34 percent to 14 percent.
As she stood at U and 16th streets, District resident Geneen Taylor said she would welcome more information than the few advertisements she has read on buses and heard on radio.
"I'm an African American woman, and we're the fastest-growing group of new HIV infections," Taylor said. "It's always in the back of my mind. It's frightening."
The next meeting of The DC Center HIV Prevention Working Group will take place Wednesday June 24th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St. NW Suite 350.
The HIV Working Group is launching its safer sex campaign this weekend at Town Friday and Saturday evenings.
Alpha Drugs invites you to the latest presentation in their Survival Forum Lecture Series: HIV Update: New Treatment Options with an Emphasis on HIV Prevention presented by Dr. Michael Pistole, HCV/HIV Specialist.
You can now follow Fight HIV in DC on Twitter. To see our tweets, visit: www.twitter.com/fighthivindc.
David Catania is an at-large member of the DC City Council. Councilmember David Catania chairs the Committee on Health and serves on the Committee on Finance and Revenue and the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation. As Chairman of the Committee on Health, Councilmember Catania oversees the Department of Health, Department of Mental Health and a number of health-related boards and commissions.
HOPE DC and DC Young POZ socials will hold their May social event on Saturday May 16th starting at 8:00 PM. For address and details contact hope@hopedc.org or call 202 466-5783. The monthly socials are friendly social gathering for those living with HIV (the HIV-positive and those who care for or about them) in the greater Washington/Baltimore area.
Dr. Shannon Hader is the current Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration within the DC Department of Health. Until her appointment by Mayor Fenty, she was on detail from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Department of State in the District of Columbia as the Senior Scientific Advisor for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She focused on starting up the Public Health Evaluation Initiative for the $15 billion worldwide program which will inform evidence-based, cost-effective HIV/AIDS programming around the globe.
Recent HOPE DC Blog Posts
The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday May 27th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350. The HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia.
The DC Tobacco Free Families Campaign, in partnership with the American Lung Association of DC, American Cancer Society, and DC Department of Health will be conducting a series of focus groups to gather the opinions of DC smokers who are also HIV positive.
National HIV Testing Day, June 27th, is an annual campaign produced by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing.
Free Condoms and Lube are available at The DC Center, courtesy of The DC Department of Health.
Could a pill a day protect you from HIV? Could a gel, liquid, or foam prevent vaginal or rectal HIV transmission? Will we one day have a safe, effective HIV Vaccine?
The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday April 22nd at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350. The HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia.
Half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in young people under age 25. Moreover, rates of HIV infection are disproportionately high among youth of color. To prevent HIV infection among young heterosexual men of color, Advocates for Youth is launching a Young Men’s Project. Advocates seeks to build the capacity of a local organization interested in and committed to improving the sexual health of young heterosexual men of color.
Through the Young Men’s Project, your organization may receive culturally relevant publications and materials on adolescent sexual health programming, strategic technical assistance and training, and a seed grant in the amount of $8,000 to implement an HIV prevention project for young heterosexual men of color, 13 to 24 years old.
Please see the attached materials for more information about this opportunity, including criteria for selection. The application form and/or proposal are due by March 23, 2009. Please mail or fax applications to Trina Scott, Program Manager, Advocates for Youth, 2000 M Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 419-1448.
Working together, we believe that we can strengthen efforts to prevent HIV infection among young heterosexual men of color. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your organization to broaden and increase the positive impact we ALL can achieve in the lives of young men. If you need further information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 419-3420.
Trina Scott
Program Manager, Young Women of Color Initiative
Advocates For Youth
(202) 419-3420 ex 17
www.advocatesforyouth.org
www.mysistahs.org
The next GBT HIV Prevention Working Group meets on Wednesday, March 25th, at 7pm at the DC Center (1111 Fourteenth Street, NW, Suite 350).
On Thursday, April 2nd the Capital Area Vaccine Effort will host a community meeting reviewing local HIV Vaccine Research. The event will include a round table discussion between clinical researchers from the NIH Vaccine Research Center, clinical trials volunteers, local health care providers and other community members of D.C.
Recent Blog Posts
Join us for our first ever Fight HIV in DC benefit event. 
The DC Center HIV Working Group had it's first meeting on January 28th. There was a great energy in the room and a renewed commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS among gay, bisexual, and transgender men. 
On August 16, 2009, Brother to Brother Sister to Sister United, Inc. (BBSU) will host its second annual 'One Day. One Ride. One Cause.' a 1-day, 40-mile charity ride through the neiborhoods of the District of Columbia.
The DC Center invites all interested individuals and organizations to join us at the table for our first meeting of the Gay, Bi, and Trans HIV/AIDS Working Group. 
The new HIV/AIDS data reveals that heterosexual contact now leads as the risk factor for newly reported HIV cases. The new District of Columbia infection numbers are significantly higher than the national statistics.
The DC Crystal Meth Working Group has released it's first video featuring Jimmy Garza talking about his recovery from crystal meth addiction. 
The DC Condom Distribution Program in the DC Dept. of Health HIV/AIDS Administration aims to increase condom availability, education and safe sex materials in the District of Columbia. The goal is to reach 3 million free condoms per year. According to recent surveys, only about 1 in 4 residents use condoms on a semi-regular basis. Condoms are 95% effective in blocking transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. 
Community members gathered at the HRC Equality Center last Thursday for: Listen, Gay Men in Their Twenties Talk About Their Lives, Their Futures, and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC. The event was co-sponsored by The DC Center, The DC Crystal Meth Working Group, and SMYAL. It was a great opportunity to have a frank conversation about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in DC. Join us for our first ever Fight HIV in DC benefit event. 
Hope DC will hold their annual holiday party will take place Saturday, December 13th at 8:00 PM. To get more details, call (202) 466-5783. 
Beyond Bread, the official blog of Bread for the City, Bread for the City, will mark World AIDS Day by blogging daily about HIV/AIDS this week. Be sure to check out their blog at:
Calling attention to the hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS on waiting lists for housing in the District of Columbia, DC Fights Back staged a demonstration on World AIDS Day.