News

/News

Lottery Scratch-Off Raises Millions for HIV/AIDS Research

Illinois Lottery officials recently announced that its “Red Ribbon Cash” instant scratch-off ticket has raised more than $8 million for HIV/AIDS prevention education since 2008. The money will be used to help organizations that work on HIV/AIDS prevention, education and treatment in an effort to eliminate the disease by 2030. “Continuing to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS research and services is critical to our newly launched Getting to Zero Illinois Plan,” said IDPH acting director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Serving the needs of...

Read More

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2019 was May 18, 2019

The following is a statement by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., NIH Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director, Office of AIDS Research Since the first cases of what would become known as HIV/AIDS were initially reported in 1981, scientists and public health officials have been working to better understand HIV, develop strategies to effectively treat and prevent infection, and bring about an end to the pandemic. This effort...

Read More

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD) educates the public about the impact of HIV/AIDS on youth and highlights the work youth do to strengthen the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is observed each year on April 10 and was created in 2013. In the United States, 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses were among young people aged 13-24 years. Getting tested for HIV is an important step toward prevention; however, testing rates among high school students remain...

Read More

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

This National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD), the Office on Women’s Health wants everyone to make the best choices when it comes to protecting their health. Abstinence is the best way to avoid HIV, but if you decide to have sex, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and others from HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that at the end of 2014, 23% of all people living with HIV in the...

Read More

Amid Trump’s call to end HIV/AIDS, here’s what’s being done in Hampton Roads

The Trump administration is launching a campaign to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by the year 2030.  According to the CDC, more than 1 million people have HIV in the U.S., with about two-thirds of new infections occurring in gay or bisexual men. The president’s plan would focus on 48 U.S. counties where the most new infections occur, which are primarily in the South. Several Hampton Roads health districts are teaming up to try and stop the spread of HIV in the...

Read More

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2019

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). Observed each year on February 7th, NBHAAD serves as an opportunity to highlight the need for increased HIV education, testing, community involvement and treatment in Black/African-American communities. This year’s NBHAAD theme, “Together for Love: Stop HIV Stigma”, highlights the messages of the Act Against AIDS, Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign.  Let’s Stop HIV Together raises awareness that we all have a role to play in stopping HIV stigma.  HIV continues to impact the health...

Read More

$5 million in federal funding will be given to Norfolk for HIV relief efforts

Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (D-Va.) have announced in a joint news release that more than $5 milllion will be made available for HIV treatment and prevention services in Norfolk. The funding will be provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We are pleased to announce federal funding to help those with HIV in Norfolk get the care they deserve,” the senators said in a statement. The grant was awarded to the Mermaid city through HHS’s HIV Emergency Relief Project...

Read More

Swapping daily pills for monthly shots could transform HIV treatment and prevention

New results are raising hopes for easing one challenge of living with HIV: the need to take daily pills for life, both to ward off AIDS and to lower the risk of transmitting the virus to others. Missing doses can also foster the emergence of HIV strains with drug resistance, a danger both to the person receiving treatment and, if those strains spread, to entire populations. Now, a large-scale study has shown over 48 weeks that monthly injections of two...

Read More

PrEP is the Latest in HIV Prevention and Treatment

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a once-daily pill that can reduce your chance of getting HIV by more than 90%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1.1 million people in the United States may benefit from taking PrEP, but only 7% were prescribed it in 2016. Spreading awareness about PrEP is important, especially here in the South where the need for prevention methods is higher than the amount of people using them. While more...

Read More