Social Stigma Hampers AIDS Prevention: A Call for Change in Perspective Validates Long Standing NYAM Studies

NEW YORK CITY, August 12 - International public health experts assembled last week for the XVII International AIDS Conference being held in Mexico City. The conference, taking place just two years before the 2010 Global Target on Universal Access for HIV/AIDS Treatment and Prevention, comes at a critical time as the theme, "Universal Action Now", highlights the need for continued urgency in the global response to HIV/AIDS. The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM)

Michel Kazatchkine, Pedro Cahn, Julio Montaner, Luis Soto attended the XVII International AIDS Conference. Photo courtesy of ?? International AIDS Society / Mondaphoto

presented a number of its findings, including on newly HIV diagnosed drug users in New York City, and on expanding the role of pharmacies in HIV prevention and healthcare services for intravenous drug users in New York City.

In recent coverage of the International AIDS Conference, The New York Times reported that outside of Africa, “Thirty percent of HIV infections were among intravenous drug users. But because of stigma and a lack of resources, the world is failing to provide measures like methadone and needle sharing that can help such people.”

In keeping with its ongoing mission NYAM, has placed itself in the forefront of HIV/AIDS research by focusing on vulnerable populations not traditionally explored. Current projects include:

• Project DiSH, which aims to create a community setting for African-American men who have sex with men (MSM). Participants cook and share meals together to help create a comfortable and safe atmosphere for conversations about difficult social and health related matters. This population has a high transmittal rate and is hard-to-reach for prevention efforts because of the social stigma attached to its sexual behavior.
• Pharm Link, which uses the pharmacy setting and pharmacist as a public health professional to explore the potential for providing HIV counseling and testing, and for expanding the role pharmacies can play with injection drug users who come in to buy syringes.
• UNITY, which is testing a series of counseling services for low income minority women interested in participating in HIV vaccine trials. Women are under-represented in vaccine trials despite the fact that they are the fastest growing HIV infected segment of the population.

NYAM continues to support the underserved populations within the HIV/AIDS community of New York City.

Posted on August 12, 2008

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Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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