NYC Health Departments Offends Gay Community with HIV/AIDS Ad

The New York City Health recently released a PSA that targets gay men. The graphic ad that promotes condom use touts the message, "when you get HIV, it's never just HIV. You're at a higher risk for dozens of diseases even if you take medications, like osteoporosis, dementia, and anal cancer." Gay advocacy groups such as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis(GMHC)  and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation(GLAAD), say that this ad alienates people and deepens the stigma around the disease. Despite the controversy, the Health Department says it will not stop running the ad and it will continue to run through January. Personally, I think people need a real wake up call. People think they are invincible and do not understand  the effects of the disease. What say you? Watch the Ad here:

Hairdressers Fight AIDS One Haircut at a Time

On World AIDS Day, five hundred hairdressers filled the streets of Manhattan to spark conversations about HIV prevention. Dressed in red ribbon hats, scarves, and vests and with Flip Cameras in their hands, stylists engaged people in the streets of New York and recorded messages to kick off the U.S. Hairdressers Against AIDS campaign.

The Hairdressers Against AIDS campaign mobilizes hairstylists to use their special stylist-client relationships to educate people about HIV.  Sponsored by the L'Oreal Foundation and their partner UNESCO(the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), Hairdressers Against AIDS operates in 30 different countries and has facilitated an estimated 1.3 million conversations about HIV prevention worldwide. 

In 2011,  Hairdressers Against AIDS representatives will visit salons across the U.S. to encourage stylists to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among their clients. At least 500,000 stylists will be provided with educational kits with materials that have messages of "Reduce Your Risk," "Get Tested, " and "Talk about HIV."

Famous celebrity stylists have lent their blow dryers and voices to the campaign including Ted  Gibson(Angelina Jolie), Tracey Cunningham( Jennifer Lopez),  and Jason Backe(Anne Hathaway.) Johnny Wright, the stylist who cares for First Lady Michelle Obama's tresses, said, " Education is key. As hair stylists we have a vital voice to help educate. So that means talking about using a condom, getting tested, knowing your partner's status, knowing your own status, knowing about the celibacy option if that's appropriate for you. All that needs to be talked about. And I find it can e very easy for us hairdressers to communicate all this to our clients. "

Hairdressers Against AIDS hopes to reach 110 million people in its first year.

If  you are a stylist and want to get involved, visit the Hairdressers Against AIDS website and their Facebook page.Encourage your stylists to get involved too!

Source: Business Week
 Tonic
Advocate

HIV Positive Man Cured Through Transplant

Doctors believe that they have made a breakthrough discovery in finding a cure for HIV/ AIDS with a Berlin patient. Timothy Ray Brown received a blood stem transplant to cure his leukemia in 2007.  Three years later, his doctors say that he is cured of both leukemia and HIV.   Apparently, Brown’s donor had a gene mutation that gave him natural resistance to HIV.  

While his doctors consider this a great discovery, it is unlikely that this treatment can be adapted for widespread use.  Blood stem cell transplants are used to treat cancer and their risks to healthy people are unknown.  "We can't really apply this particular approach to healthy individuals because the risk is just too high," said Dr. Michael Sagg of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  He is the former chairman of the HIV Medicine Association, an organization of doctors that specializes in treating AIDS.

Although Brown’s case does not provide an absolute cure for people living with HIV, it can lead researchers to find a permanent cure using gene therapy or other methods. 

Source: Associated Press

Huffington Post.

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Hollywood's Digital Death: Narcissism or Advocacy?

People never cease to amaze me. Alicia Keys launched her "Digital Death" campaign to raise  $1 million for her Keep a Child Alive foundation. As I browsed through  blog posts and news stories about this campaign, my heart dropped after I read people's comments.

What were the words used to describe this campaign? Narcissistic and Egotistical. Many people asked "why do I care if these people are on Twitter?" Or, "why can't they donate money?" Well, let me ask these questions. Why do you follow them or any celebrity on twitter? Why are you a fan on their Facebook page? We live in a celebrity culture. We keep track of celebrities' lives from when their album to drop to when they go to jail.  

Yes. All of these celebrities can donate a  million dollars to this cause, but that's not the point of this campaign. The whole point is to get people like you and me involved with this issue and raise awareness. Many people know the fact and statistics, but don't do anything about it.

Nobody cares about something until it is in their backyard. Well, AIDS showed up on my doorstep one day. It broke my father's body down, left him with shame, then took his life. AIDS take countless other lives everyday.

Is this campaign narcissistic? Maybe, but remember there is 1 in 5 people in the United States living with AIDS. There are millions of people dying from it in Africa. And you may know somebody who is and who has died from this disease. Even if you don't give to this campaign, give to a local charity. Go volunteer with an organization that helps people with HIV/AIDS. If you can't be selfless and give to others, give to yourself. Go get tested because AIDS can be killing you and you don't know it. AIDS does not care about what you look like, what you wear, or how much money you have. AIDS is real and it kills!

Be Safe and Be Healthy.