(Press-News.org) LOS ANGELES, 18 July 2012 – Today, the Black AIDS Institute released its latest report, Back of the Line: The State of AIDS Among Black Gay Men in America. The landmark report highlights alarming data that show disproportionately high rates of HIV infections and deaths from AIDS among Black MSM, why the disparities persist and are growing worse, and the urgent need for local and national leadership to immediately address the devastating health crisis.
"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front."
Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.
The AIDS crisis among Black MSM is far from over and not even close to being under control.
"Current policies do not adequately address the unique needs of Black MSM in America. Local and national leaders must remain vigilant in the fight against AIDS, especially in the Black community, which continues to carry the heaviest burden," said Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). "Unless we change the way we do business, we cannot reverse the epidemic. No one should be forced to the back of the line."
The report provides a plan to address the AIDS crisis facing Black MSM, which involves action at every level. Recommendations include: increasing access to vital services such as HIV testing, treatment and prevention services; reducing sexually transmitted diseases; introducing pre-exposure prophylaxis; building sustainable community infrastructure; and implementing a national plan to reduce the vulnerability of Black MSM. The report also calls on national leaders to make the fight against AIDS among Black MSM a central priority.
The Black AIDS Institute also ranked 25 cities to determine which address the HIV-related needs of Black MSM most effectively, and which do not. Among the best are Washington, DC; New York, NY; and Los Angeles, CA. Gary, IN tops the worst city list followed by Memphis, TN and Richmond, VA.
The report is the latest in a series by the Black AIDS Institute on the state of AIDS in Black America. It is being released a week prior to the International AIDS Society conference in Washington, DC, a landmark event for the global AIDS community. Although the conference theme is "Turning the Tide Together," America will not turn any tide if it does not immediately address the crisis facing Black MSM.
INFORMATION:
About the Black AIDS Institute
Founded in 1999, The Black AIDS Institute (The Institute), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, is the only national HIV/AIDS Think Tank in the United States focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute's mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing traditional Black leaders, institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV/AIDS. The Institute offers training and capacity building, disseminates information, interprets and recommends private and public sector HIV policies, and provides advocacy and mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.
END
Astronomers have witnessed for the first time a spiral galaxy in the early universe, billions of years before many other spiral galaxies formed. In findings reported July 19 in the journal Nature, the astronomers said they discovered it while using the Hubble Space Telescope to take pictures of about 300 very distant galaxies in the early universe and to study their properties. This distant spiral galaxy is being observed as it existed roughly three billion years after the Big Bang, and light from this part of the universe has been traveling to Earth for about 10.7 billion ...
The word rainforest usually conjures up visions of brightly coloured birds and hyperactive monkeys swooping through a thick green canopy of leaves, vines and flowers. But rainforests are also found closer to the poles, in the northern or boreal region where temperatures are far cooler. And while there are no monkeys swinging through the trees here, these forests are every bit as endangered as their southern cousins, and highly diverse – if you know where to look.
Olga Hilmo knows. As a biologist and researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), ...
A quarter of patients admitted to Scottish intensive care units have alcohol problems and the majority of those have chronic alcohol disease, with particular problems among men and younger people.
Those are key findings of a survey of all 24 Scottish intensive care units, carried out by the Scottish Intensive Care Audit Group and published online early by Anaesthesia, ahead of inclusion in an issue.
"Alcohol disease adversely affects the outcome of critically ill patients and the burden of this in Scotland is higher than elsewhere in the UK" says co-author Dr Timothy ...
In order to pass on their genes, southern dumpling squid engage in up to three hours of mating with each partner, but University of Melbourne researchers have found that this results in a reduced ability to swim for up to 30 minutes afterwards.
The research provides new insight into the evolution of reproductive strategies and behaviours and is the first time that the energetic costs of mating have been shown to affect physical abilities after mating.
The research was conducted by Master of Science student Ms Amanda Franklin with Ms Zoe Squires and Dr Devi Stuart-Fox ...
New report from the European Science Foundation assesses the science of innovation in Europe Strasbourg, 18 July 2012: Innovation has improved human living standards to an unprecedented level, and is the key to further progress; however it is a complex phenomenon that is not easy to understand and whose effects are unclear. This is the conclusion of the policy brief published by the European Science Foundation and STOA on innovation policy. The publication follows a ESF/STOA hosted conference on The Science of Innovation, which took place in Brussels on 28th February ...
New research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on pluripotency—the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves indefinitely and to differentiate into all types of mature cells. Solving this problem, which is a major challenge in modern biology, could expedite the use of embryonic stem cells in cell therapy and regenerative medicine. If scientists can replicate the mechanisms that make pluripotency possible, they could create cells in the laboratory which could be implanted in humans to cure diseases characterized by cell death, such as Alzheimer's, ...
A study conducted at the University of Granada have demonstrated that there are not significant differences between men's and women's sexual fantasies. The fact is that both sexes have intimate and romantic sexual fantaies involving their partner or loved one. In addition, men have more sexual fantasies (positive and negative) than women, which would confirm the old believe that men think more frequently about sex than women. To carry out this study, the researchers took a sample of 2250 Spanish people (49.6% mend and 0.4% women) aged between 18 and 73 years, who had maintained ...
WASHINGTON –- The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Spacecraft Engineering Department's space robotics research facility recently took possession of a one-of-a-kind 75,000 pound Gravity Offset Table (GOT) made from a single slab of solid granite.
To emulate the classical mechanics of physics found in space on full-scale replica spacecraft on Earth requires not only a hefty amount of air to 'float' the object, but a precision, frictionless, large surface area that will allow researchers to replicate the effects of inertia on man-made objects in space.
"We accomplish this ...
Research from the University of Southampton, which examines how dolphins might process their sonar signals, could provide a new system for man-made sonar to detect targets, such as sea mines, in bubbly water.
When hunting prey, dolphins have been observed to blow 'bubble nets' around schools of fish, which force the fish to cluster together, making them easier for the dolphins to pick off. However, such bubble nets would confound the best man-made sonar because the strong scattering by the bubbles generates 'clutter' in the sonar image, which cannot be distinguished from ...
MADISON—Metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, seems to be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to research by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Dr. Barbara Bendlin, researcher for the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and an assistant professor of medicine (geriatrics) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, said study participants with multiple risk factors connected to metabolic syndrome, including abdominal obesity, ...
