The conference is starting to wind down. From a personal and environmental perspective, you can feel the air slowly ‘leaving the balloon.’ The palpable energy level has dropped appreciably. Many of us are just overloaded. There is so much information being disseminated, as well as events, press conferences, and activities, many occurring concurrently, that it is physically impossible to attend but a fraction of it. One of my greatest regrets is that I haven’t had an opportunity to have any substantive conversations with my brothers and sisters from other counties. There has just been so little time. I have had the opportunity to speak with a couple of the gentlemen in my traveling party who work for organizations that have similar programs to my owe. I have found those conversations to be enlightening and helpful.
I had the opportunity to attend The Other City,’ Sheila Johnson’s independent film about HIV in Washington D.C. Suffice to say, because I don’t want to spoil the movie, it is well worth seeing and I am going to work hard to bring it to the Philadelphia area. After the movie, we have a brief discussion period which included some convention delegates from Africa and Haiti. While it certainly wasn’t the first time I heard it, they remarked at how surprised they were that HIV was a problem in the United States. Their perception of the U.S. is that we are wealthy and that the HIV epidemic is under control here. The real irony here is that most Americans, including many black Americans, feel the same way. I can’t keep track of the number of conversations I have had with American black folks who have told me that they didn’t think that HIV was a problem because they hardly hear about it. While I acknowledge that there is not enough HIV reporting, there is plenty of information available for those who seek it. So therein lies the problem, why don’t we want to know. Clearly, some of us don’t believe that we are at risk. Others still hold on to the myths (that it’s a gay disease) and conspiracy theories (that there is an actual cure). Still others find it depressing and feel that they already have enough to deal with.
So what do we do? How do we get black folks attention, especially with the next International HIV Conference in Washington D.C., looming? Think about it: What message do we want to take to that conference? Will it be that we are still dragging our feet and HIV in the US has worsened? Or will we begin to live up to the hype, the international image that we have HIV better managed and might actually be in a position to show other folks how to do it? I ran into actress Sheryl Lee Ralph here. She suggested a million person march on HIV. Hmmm, not a bad idea. Volunteers?
Goodbye from Vienna. This will be my last official Vienna blog, but please follow my blog, called unabashedly, ‘Gary’s Blog at www.bebashi.org and at The Body website (www.thebody.com).
Auf wiedersehen!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day Four of the International AIDS Conference of 2010
‘Charity begins at home.’ A cliché? Certainly! But with dwindling resources for everything and a raging HIV Epidemic in Black people in the United States, should we concentrate more of our efforts here? This question, which has created an ongoing tension for many HIV/AIDS advocates in the U. S., was the proverbial ‘elephant in the room during a breakfast meeting I attended with billionaire philanthropist Sheila Johnson this morning. Ms Johnson acknowledged coming to the same conclusion through her international work with CARE upon learning of the devastation that HIV was causing in Washington DC. For years, we (Black U.S. HIV advocates) have witnessed the constant flow of wealthy celebrities overseas, often to Africa, to attempt to make some small impact in the epidemic. We have struggled with the dichotomy of two virtual epidemics: one here ad the other overseas. If we are truly our brother’s keepers, how can we begrudge anyone helping our brothers and sisters in the ‘motherland?’ No one will discount the devastation of HIV in Africa.
As I travel throughout the conference and look into the many faces of its participants, it is clear that most, if not all, are very, very passionate about the impact of HIV in there respective countries and/or, for the constituents they represent: women, transgender, MSM (men having sex with men), sex workers, etc... Few seem to advocate for resources to be sent elsewhere. Therefore, is it selfish for those in the U.S. who have more resources and clearly have an edge in terms of access to life sustaining antiretroviral therapy, to place most of our emphasis on home? While no one would argue that we have more in the U.S., for black people, we clearly do not have enough. Moreover, we now recognize that HIV rates in some areas of the U.S.: parts of the rural south, the Bronx, North Philadelphia and of course Washington DC, rival countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Therefore, do we now have the justification to advocate more vociferously for more of our resources to remain at home? Did we ever need to ‘justification?’ And if we don’t advocate, what will the consequence be?
Well, ladies and gentleman, we are living the consequences of not just diverted resources, but our own ignorance and apathy. We have very little margin for error. While we certainly have no right to tell Oprah, or Alicia Keys how to spend their money, we can and we must continue to educate them and others (including those of more moderate means) that our own house is on fire and that if we run down the street to help our neighbors than we just might not have a home to come back to. It is a difficult conversation to have. But I’m ready. Let’s talk about it!
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
As I travel throughout the conference and look into the many faces of its participants, it is clear that most, if not all, are very, very passionate about the impact of HIV in there respective countries and/or, for the constituents they represent: women, transgender, MSM (men having sex with men), sex workers, etc... Few seem to advocate for resources to be sent elsewhere. Therefore, is it selfish for those in the U.S. who have more resources and clearly have an edge in terms of access to life sustaining antiretroviral therapy, to place most of our emphasis on home? While no one would argue that we have more in the U.S., for black people, we clearly do not have enough. Moreover, we now recognize that HIV rates in some areas of the U.S.: parts of the rural south, the Bronx, North Philadelphia and of course Washington DC, rival countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Therefore, do we now have the justification to advocate more vociferously for more of our resources to remain at home? Did we ever need to ‘justification?’ And if we don’t advocate, what will the consequence be?
Well, ladies and gentleman, we are living the consequences of not just diverted resources, but our own ignorance and apathy. We have very little margin for error. While we certainly have no right to tell Oprah, or Alicia Keys how to spend their money, we can and we must continue to educate them and others (including those of more moderate means) that our own house is on fire and that if we run down the street to help our neighbors than we just might not have a home to come back to. It is a difficult conversation to have. But I’m ready. Let’s talk about it!
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
Day Three of the International AIDS Conference of 2010
With yesterday’s release of the CDC’S report on the relationship between poverty, and another study on morbidity and mortality released by the University of California, Day three of the International AIDS Conference of 2010 began on a more somber note. To be blunt: It’s about Poverty, stupid. While the CDC’s report demonstrated a clear link between HIV infection and poverty in urban centers, the UC report focused on dramatically heightened mortality rates of ‘disadvantaged’ (read poor back folks) who have been linked to care and started on state of the art antiretroviral therapy-rates that were in excess of third world countries. None of the deceased patients ever received viral suppression, despite robust supportive and case management services to help them. In short, even getting low income minorities into care is, as Winston Churchill would say (and I paraphrase); ‘Is not the end, is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.’
Many of us have been impacted in many ways by the global financial recession. We probably know people who have lost their jobs or perhaps even their homes. We are all pinching pennies to make ends meet. But, no where may the effects of the recession be felt more greatly than in HIV prevention and care. Think about it: if we have more minorities falling into poverty, or becoming more entrenched in it, then we may see greater HIV infection rates in those urban areas where most of them (and us) live. Moreover, even if we link them into care, how will we ensure that they stay in care and take their medication? So many of us have become comfortable thinking about HIV disease as a chronic, manageable condition; much like diabetes. But we all know black folks, probably in our families, who have ‘sugar’ (what some of our seasoned citizens call diabetes) who slide up to the table and eat those greasy chicken wings or smack on that sweet potato pie. And we watch those same folks lose their vision, or even some toes, because of uncontrolled diabetes. However, with HIV, they may lose a lot more than some toes. Moreover, unlike most other ‘chronic conditions like diabetes, HIV is transmissible.
So the reality of my work, (which I am never unrealistic about), hit a little harder today. It also reminds me that the US National Strategy on HIV/AIDS will require unprecedented coordination and cooperation by not just HHS, the CDC and SAMSHA, but from other agencies that (should) focus on the poor such as HUD and the Departments of Labor and Education. With drop out rates of 50% in Philly and unemployment rates in the black community more than double the national rate’ we must do more to address poverty in order to have an impact on health disparities, especially with HIV.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
Many of us have been impacted in many ways by the global financial recession. We probably know people who have lost their jobs or perhaps even their homes. We are all pinching pennies to make ends meet. But, no where may the effects of the recession be felt more greatly than in HIV prevention and care. Think about it: if we have more minorities falling into poverty, or becoming more entrenched in it, then we may see greater HIV infection rates in those urban areas where most of them (and us) live. Moreover, even if we link them into care, how will we ensure that they stay in care and take their medication? So many of us have become comfortable thinking about HIV disease as a chronic, manageable condition; much like diabetes. But we all know black folks, probably in our families, who have ‘sugar’ (what some of our seasoned citizens call diabetes) who slide up to the table and eat those greasy chicken wings or smack on that sweet potato pie. And we watch those same folks lose their vision, or even some toes, because of uncontrolled diabetes. However, with HIV, they may lose a lot more than some toes. Moreover, unlike most other ‘chronic conditions like diabetes, HIV is transmissible.
So the reality of my work, (which I am never unrealistic about), hit a little harder today. It also reminds me that the US National Strategy on HIV/AIDS will require unprecedented coordination and cooperation by not just HHS, the CDC and SAMSHA, but from other agencies that (should) focus on the poor such as HUD and the Departments of Labor and Education. With drop out rates of 50% in Philly and unemployment rates in the black community more than double the national rate’ we must do more to address poverty in order to have an impact on health disparities, especially with HIV.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
Day two of the International AIDS Conference of 2010
Day two of the International AIDS Conference of 2010 began with a bang: an address at the opening plenary by former President Bill Clinton. As expected, it was standing room only. Prior to today, I had only gotten a glimpse of the sheer number of delegates present. However, it was at the Clinton address that I began to see just how many people are here. It is truly amazing-So many people of different hues, nationalities, and roles: physicians, researchers, representatives from government and non government entities and, of course, people living with the virus.
As you can imagine, the address from former President Clinton was thoughtful and moving. I was first struck by his knowledge of the issue (of HIV/AIDS). His address covered many areas. For example, he spoke of the work of his foundation in countries as varied as the Ukraine to Zambia. He also spoke about the progress being made especially in reducing mother to child transmission and in increasing the number of people living with HIV who receive life-sustaining medication. He challenged us to spend our limited HIV funds more smartly before we demanded more. He even acknowledged that, as President of the United States for 8 years, how he did not do enough about HIV/AIDS. However, being the politician that he is, his most controversial statements covered the direction that he believes we should take for activism. While acknowledging the rights of activists to protest whatever and whoever they choose, he also reminded those who have recently protested President Obama for his failure to fund PEPFAR at the level that he ‘promised,’ that his (Obama’s) commitment came long before the almost complete economic collapse of our country. I acknowledge that my respect for Bill Clinton had dwindled as a result of his tactics in campaigning for his wife Hillary against Obama. Therefore, I was even more pleased to hear his common sense defense of President Obama, Former President Clinton expressed that activism would be better served by putting more pressure on Congress to cooperate (yes, I used the words ‘Congress’ and ‘cooperate’ in the same sentence) with the Obama administration and to appropriate more funding.
This raises a very controversial topic: Just how much ‘slack’ should Obama receive. As the first Black president, Obama, unfortunately was given an extremely rotten hand to play: two long, expensive wars; financial instability; and a totally uncooperative Republican party, to name a few. Should we wait for some of the smoke to clear before we go on the attack? Does his successful push for more health care in the United States count for anything? At the heart of the matter is, do we really trust him? Can we trust any politician?
I believe that it is a delicate balancing act between maintaining consistent, but flexible pressure on all of the powers that be, including Obama, but at the same time ‘turning up the heat,’ as it were, on those who have historically opposed universal health care. Personally, I am grateful for the contributions thus far and in anticipation of those to come from these two great men: Clinton and Obama.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
As you can imagine, the address from former President Clinton was thoughtful and moving. I was first struck by his knowledge of the issue (of HIV/AIDS). His address covered many areas. For example, he spoke of the work of his foundation in countries as varied as the Ukraine to Zambia. He also spoke about the progress being made especially in reducing mother to child transmission and in increasing the number of people living with HIV who receive life-sustaining medication. He challenged us to spend our limited HIV funds more smartly before we demanded more. He even acknowledged that, as President of the United States for 8 years, how he did not do enough about HIV/AIDS. However, being the politician that he is, his most controversial statements covered the direction that he believes we should take for activism. While acknowledging the rights of activists to protest whatever and whoever they choose, he also reminded those who have recently protested President Obama for his failure to fund PEPFAR at the level that he ‘promised,’ that his (Obama’s) commitment came long before the almost complete economic collapse of our country. I acknowledge that my respect for Bill Clinton had dwindled as a result of his tactics in campaigning for his wife Hillary against Obama. Therefore, I was even more pleased to hear his common sense defense of President Obama, Former President Clinton expressed that activism would be better served by putting more pressure on Congress to cooperate (yes, I used the words ‘Congress’ and ‘cooperate’ in the same sentence) with the Obama administration and to appropriate more funding.
This raises a very controversial topic: Just how much ‘slack’ should Obama receive. As the first Black president, Obama, unfortunately was given an extremely rotten hand to play: two long, expensive wars; financial instability; and a totally uncooperative Republican party, to name a few. Should we wait for some of the smoke to clear before we go on the attack? Does his successful push for more health care in the United States count for anything? At the heart of the matter is, do we really trust him? Can we trust any politician?
I believe that it is a delicate balancing act between maintaining consistent, but flexible pressure on all of the powers that be, including Obama, but at the same time ‘turning up the heat,’ as it were, on those who have historically opposed universal health care. Personally, I am grateful for the contributions thus far and in anticipation of those to come from these two great men: Clinton and Obama.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
Day One of the International AIDS Conference of 2010
Day One of the International AIDS Conference of 2010, but Day Three for me in Vienna, Austria. This is a time of ‘firsts’ for me. This is my first International AIDS Conference and my first time travelling to Europe . I am attending the conference as a delegate of BTAN, the Black AIDS Treatment Network of the Black AIDS Institute. My day job is as the Executive Director of BEBASHI- Transition to Hope; the first Black AIDS Services Organization in the country which is, this year, commemorating its 25th anniversary. I was honored to be chosen for this important job that will include a three year commitment and will involve creating a treatment advocate/education initiative in Philadelphia. It was a difficult trip. I am sure that veterans of international travel will understand, but I have certainly learned a few lessons. However, so far, it has been well worth it. When I told my collegues that I would be attending the conference and that it was in Europe, I was meant with virtually universal support. However, whenever I embark on a new endeavor or initiative, I have trained myself to ask a crucial question: What for? In other words, why an international AIDS conference when the focus of my career has been to help primarily minority people in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. To be blunt: how will learning more about HIV/AIDS around the world help poor black folks in Philly? It’s an important question but one that was easily answered in my first two days of meetings and presentations. While I expect this to be (and it has so far) been a life changing experience, I will summarize the main expectations in three ways:
1. Information: With eight days of meetings, presentations, poster sessions as well as informal conversations and networking, I have already begun to learn a great deal especially about new trends, interventions, etc... that I can utilize in my work in Philadelphia. For example, yesterday, I attended a special session facilitated by the Black AIDS Institute that featured some of the best minds in African American HIV/AIDS Treatment, Policy and Care, including Dr. Kevin Fenton of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Helene Gayle, of CARE and United States Representative Barbara Lee. Their words and careers have been an inspiration to me and I valued the opportunity not just to hear, but to meet them.
2. Context: Another program that I attended today was a meeting facilitated by the African and Black Diaspora Global Network on HIV and AIDS (ABDGN). Launched at the International AIDS conference in Toronto Canada in 2006, ABDGN's mission is to strengthen the response to emerging HIV/AIDS epidemics among African and black communities in the Diaspora. While I am certainly aware of the existence of black people in many countries around the world, this session, as well as the one sponsored the day before by the Black AIDS Institute, helped to remind me of the devastation of HIV, not just in Sub Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, but among other black people including those in Canada, Germany, France, England, etc… As a loooong term HIV/AIDS activist (since 1987), I and many like me have struggled to get our folks in the United States to recognize that while this is a global epidemic, that the United States is a part of that globe. Yet, we cannot lose sight of the fact that there are no walls around the United States and some of those very same people, my brothers and sisters from the Diaspora, may end up here. Moreover, we cannot allow others around the world to suffer because of the lack of information or access to treatment that is readily available to us. An International AIDS Conference helps to remind me of something that we actually have printed on one of BEBASHI’S T-Shirts: “One World, One Epidemic.”
3. Contribution: This final theme is one that hasn’t really happened yet and that is: What will my contribution be; both to this Conference and to my community. The final presentation of the day that I attended was on the United States National HIV/AIDS Strategy. There have been Strategic Plans, such as the one led By Dr, Helen Gayle when she was at the CDC, to cut the number of new HIV infections in half; yet there has never been a true United States Strategy. Without elaborating too much on the plan, it focuses on three primary goals: Reducing the number of new infections; increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS and; reducing HIV-related health disparities. Needless to say, even though developing the strategy was not an easy task, now comes the hard part: implementing it.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
1. Information: With eight days of meetings, presentations, poster sessions as well as informal conversations and networking, I have already begun to learn a great deal especially about new trends, interventions, etc... that I can utilize in my work in Philadelphia. For example, yesterday, I attended a special session facilitated by the Black AIDS Institute that featured some of the best minds in African American HIV/AIDS Treatment, Policy and Care, including Dr. Kevin Fenton of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Helene Gayle, of CARE and United States Representative Barbara Lee. Their words and careers have been an inspiration to me and I valued the opportunity not just to hear, but to meet them.
2. Context: Another program that I attended today was a meeting facilitated by the African and Black Diaspora Global Network on HIV and AIDS (ABDGN). Launched at the International AIDS conference in Toronto Canada in 2006, ABDGN's mission is to strengthen the response to emerging HIV/AIDS epidemics among African and black communities in the Diaspora. While I am certainly aware of the existence of black people in many countries around the world, this session, as well as the one sponsored the day before by the Black AIDS Institute, helped to remind me of the devastation of HIV, not just in Sub Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, but among other black people including those in Canada, Germany, France, England, etc… As a loooong term HIV/AIDS activist (since 1987), I and many like me have struggled to get our folks in the United States to recognize that while this is a global epidemic, that the United States is a part of that globe. Yet, we cannot lose sight of the fact that there are no walls around the United States and some of those very same people, my brothers and sisters from the Diaspora, may end up here. Moreover, we cannot allow others around the world to suffer because of the lack of information or access to treatment that is readily available to us. An International AIDS Conference helps to remind me of something that we actually have printed on one of BEBASHI’S T-Shirts: “One World, One Epidemic.”
3. Contribution: This final theme is one that hasn’t really happened yet and that is: What will my contribution be; both to this Conference and to my community. The final presentation of the day that I attended was on the United States National HIV/AIDS Strategy. There have been Strategic Plans, such as the one led By Dr, Helen Gayle when she was at the CDC, to cut the number of new HIV infections in half; yet there has never been a true United States Strategy. Without elaborating too much on the plan, it focuses on three primary goals: Reducing the number of new infections; increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS and; reducing HIV-related health disparities. Needless to say, even though developing the strategy was not an easy task, now comes the hard part: implementing it.
Goodbye from Vienna. Will be in touch tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
