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The Black AIDS Institute (BAI) and
pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck have partnered to create the Washington, D.C.
Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN), which will address the distinct needs
of HIV-infected African Americans in the nation’s capital. Using the
educational initiatives of the Community Education Group (CEG), BTAN planned to
train advocates to share information about health resources for HIV-infected
African Americans in the nation’s capital. Training for advocates was underway,
and advocates would begin work in their communities by the end of the year.
Thirteen other high-incidence cities already have HIV services networks.
According to Phill Wilson, BAI
president and chief executive officer, HIV-infected African Americans were not
using fully the treatment services available under the Affordable Care Act.
Equating HIV treatment with prevention, Wilson stated that fewer than 25
percent of HIV-infected African Americans had “appropriate HIV care with viral
suppression,” which was the key to preventing 96 percent of new HIV cases.
In May 2012, the D.C. Department of
Health reported that 4.3 percent of Washington’s African-American population
had HIV. Although African Americans comprised only 46 percent of D.C.’s
population, they accounted for approximately 75 percent of the city’s HIV
cases.
Chirfi Guindo, Merck’s vice
president and general manager, described Merck programs that helped offset
antiretroviral medication costs. Merck’s initiative provided free HIV
medications to approximately 1,000 patients, but many other HIV-infected people
lacked information about available HIV facilities and treatment resources.
HIV advocate Alvin Jeffrey Hall, who
has been HIV positive since the 1980s, reported that many HIV-infected African
Americans in Washington, D.C. did not take advantage of HIV services because of
fear and lack of knowledge about treatment resources. Now office manager for
Metro TeenAIDS, Hall emphasized that education and regular treatment were of
prime importance.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
