Tue, 26 Jan 2010 – http://www.afp.com/english/home/

Ghiesko (Haitian Group for Studies in Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections) is one of the oldest HIV/AIDS clinics in the world, founded by Cornell University’s William Pape in Port-au-Prince soon after the epidemic began in 1981. The group’s 28 centers care for roughly half of all Haitians receiving antiretroviral treatment, or about 12,000 patients. And since Haiti’s devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, it has continued to provide care for thousands of people. After the quake, Ghiesko took to the radio to notify HIV/AIDS patients they could continue to access care and treatment, and it arranged carpools to bring them from their neighborhoods to its clinics. “It’s a real pleasure for us health workers to see our patients come here despite what has befallen them,” nurse Naomi Jean-Charles said as she dispensed medications to dozens of people waiting in line. According to Pape, Ghiesko always provides its patients with extra medicines at their monthly visits “so they won’t run short.” “What worries me more is not our usual patients but this horrible emergency situation, offering care to people who come in from all over with horrible injuries,” he said. Ghiesko has had to move its operations to a wing of its Port-au-Prince facility that remained intact after the quake. A military hospital with a surgical unit has set up in a rear courtyard of the clinic, with assistance from the US government and volunteer surgeons. Hundreds of injured Haitians have descended on the clinic seeking treatment, while some 5,000 homeless people have taken refuge on land next to it.

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 – http://www.news-observer.com/

On Friday, North Carolina’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program stopped enrolling new patients, the result of state budget cuts and a dramatic spike in residents seeking assistance. Last year, state legislators allocated $11 million for ADAP, approximately half of its previous budget, said Jacquelyn Clymore, head of North Carolina’s HIV/STD Prevention and Care branch. The economy has pushed more people in need of AIDS treatment to seek it from the state. Last month, North Carolina’s unemployment rate hit a record 11.2 percent. As a result, many residents have lost employer-supported health insurance. “You don’t want people who are currently on medications to lose that access,” Clymore said. North Carolina ADAP’s total enrollment has shot from about 4,000 low-income patients this time last year to about 4,400 today, Clymore said. “The economic challenges are immense,” she said, noting that nine other state ADAPs also have capped enrollment. “This is by no means the only state having this experience.” In 2008, more than 23,000 state residents had HIV/AIDS.

Thought this was really interesting and it shows some great ideas on how to end this Pandemic of HIV/AIDS.  Knowledge is Power

UShouldknow.org

Lisa W. Kimbrough, MS; Holly E. Fisher, PhD; Kenneth T. Jones, MSW; Wayne Johnson, MPH; Sekhar Thadiparthi, BS; Samuel Dooley, MD

American Journal of Public Health Vol. 99; No. 6: P. 1093-1099 (06..09) – Monday, July 20, 2009

Friday night I spent the evening with African American racing legend Charlie “Roger” Downes and Host/Producer Chris Miles from www.startinggrid.com to meet with some extraordinary young african american drivers chasing their dreams.  They are David Sims Jr.(8), Josh Young (13) and Frank Young Jr. (16).  They are fueled by enthusiam for the sport of racing and the desire to reach the heights of a driver like Lewis Hamilton, 2008 F-1 Champion www.lewishamilton.com

You can read more about these incredible young men at the following sites:

www.davidsimsjr.com

http://www.loopd.com/Members/TheAllAmericanBoy/Default.aspx

Stay tuned as we follow them through the season and help them pursure their dreams!

–Terrence Coles

Global Transmedia Producer, Cedar Grove Entertainment Inc.

Here are links to my boy Chris Miles latest videos on the state of African Americans in MotorSports.  Check it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaTAMtprXPQ – Part 4
 
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REzOjw1p2ag – Part 3
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5kkt_R82-g – Part 2
 
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM7VsX7rHRs&feature=channel_page – Part 1
 
            (http://www.onwheelsinc.com/article/935/chris_miles_on_diversity_in_motorsports – On Wheels, Inc.)

From Time Magazine article by Alex Altman –
The Gist:

There are few who still shrug off HIV and AIDS as exotic calamities that befall only specific segments of the world’s population. But many of us are probably oblivious to just how badly the virus is ravaging our nation’s capital. According to a city report, 3% of Washington, D.C., residents suffer from HIV or AIDS — a figure that ranks as the highest in the nation and far outstrips the 1% benchmark at which a health issue becomes a “generalized and severe” epidemic. The district’s HIV/AIDS administration director, Shannon Hader, couched the severity of the problem in stark terms, noting the city’s rate of infection surpasses those in West Africa and is “on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya.” The most disquieting part? Things may be getting worse. (See photos of Africa’s AIDS crisis.)

Highlight Reel:

1. The report, which documents cases recorded through the end of 2007, provides the first confirmed tally of city residents living with HIV or AIDS. The 15,120 people affected represent a 22% increase from 2006. As grisly as those numbers are, they most likely don’t accurately convey the depths of the problem. Drawing from research indicating that from one-third to one-half of infected people are unaware they harbor the virus, the authors conclude that the number of affected residents is “certainly higher.”

2. “Nearly every population group and age is experiencing a severe epidemic,” the authors write. Only one of the city’s eight wards — an affluent neighborhood in northwest D.C. — has a rate of infection below the 1% epidemic threshold.

3. While the disease doesn’t discriminate, African Americans are suffering in far greater numbers than other ethnic groups. More than 75% of Washington residents who have contracted the virus are black, with 7% of all black men testing positive. Overall, 4% of African Americans are afflicted. By contrast, 2% of Hispanics and 1% of whites are known to harbor the virus.

4. HIV and AIDS predominantly afflict the middle-aged, with the highest rates of incidence falling among the 40-to-49 (7%) and 50-to-59 age ranges (5%). Overall, 70% of those infected are over age 40.

5. Sex between gay men is the leading mode of transmission, accounting for 37% of active cases. But the report also illustrates that incidence of infection through heterosexual sex and drug use remains high across all ethnic and age groups. Heterosexual sex is the leading mode of transmission among African Americans.

The Lowdown:

D.C.’s health department — which has come under criticism for its response to the problem — has tried to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic by testing more young people, distributing 1.5 million free condoms and promoting needle-exchange programs. In his remarks on the report’s findings, Mayor Adrian Fenty acknowledged that elected officials must shoulder responsibility for educating the public about the scope of the epidemic and its attendant risks. But he also lamented the public’s unwillingness to confront the disease. “You have this problem affecting us, and you tell people how serious it is, and it literally goes in one ear and out the other,” Fenty told the Washington Post. Let’s hope this fresh batch of staggering statistics will shock Washingtonians — and the rest of us — into using proper protection.

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