Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Windows - August 6, 2008
Keith Orr and Michael Shankle, Bay Windows Contributors
The first news came from the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, where the CDC reported a dramatic increase in reported HIV infections in the U.S.
But more jolting health news hit closer to home with the governor's and Massachusetts Department of Public Health's (MDPH) report Inequitable Impact: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic Among Gay and Bisexual Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in Massachusetts and the Boston Public Health Commission's (BPHC) latest report on the Health of Boston. These demand an urgent local call to action for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
The South End is home for The MALE Center, Boston's only community and wellness center for gay and bisexual men. It is also the epicenter of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections among MSM in Boston. We take our work seriously and are renewing our call for action to redefine how this disease assaults our community. We urge you to join us to combat this needless foe and rally for our own people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) new estimates translate to one new infection every 10 minutes. Nationally, 53 percent of new infections are attributed to men having sex with men and Massachusetts is slightly higher, 59 percent.
With shrinking budgets and expanding needs, AIDS service organizations have made great strides in prevention and outreach. The fact is, sufficient money for this important work just isn't there. Too many interventions were effective in the '80s and haven't been updated much since.
This can directly be tied to funding loss. MDPH says that 39 percent of the recently reported HIV infections are among all categories of MSM, but only 33 percent of HIV prevention funding is targeted there. That gap undervalues men who have sex with men, and that's wrong.
It's easy to say that "those people" don't use condoms. "They" practice unsafe sex or use drugs.
"Those people" are our friends, family, future boyfriends, partners, neighbors, co-workers, etc. We are all community! We all share this common bond and have the power to stop this disease in its tracks.
So, what can we do to curb new HIV infections? How do we and our allies bridge the gap between what we need and what's available?
First, we need a community-constructed strategy to get back in the game. We need your help. The MALE Center is hosting a Town Hall meeting to begin to address the problem head-on. We welcome everyone's voice because this is about us.
Next, we need to make sure that what is said connects to you and your friends. We need people to serve as role models in the community to talk the talk and walk the walk.
We need to talk about preventing new infections with our friends and to start acknowledging HIV "fatigue" and the drug epidemic on our doorstep, crystal methamphetamine.
We need to tell our friends that we care about and value them, and we need to value ourselves.
The most heartbreaking fact is that HIV is 100 percent preventable. Yet, we know that many factors impact our decisions to make healthy choices. Yes, we all slip up once in a while.
On Tuesday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m., let's start the conversation. Let's start to develop the strategy to end this epidemic. It will be the first of many conversations. If you cannot make the 26th or you want to start today, stop by The MALE Center and find out other ways to can help. Ask your friends to visit us. Come volunteer and make a direct impact on the community. Go to our website: www.MALEcenter.org.
The MALE Center is your community resource and wellness center for gay and bisexual men and all men who have sex with men. We, along with all of our colleagues at AIDS Action Committee, are dedicated to the lives of our community's men.
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Michael Shankle, MPH, is Director of the MALE Center, Boston's only community and wellness center for gay and bisexual men and a nationally recognized published expert on LGBT health access.
Keith Orr is Marketing Manager, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, and co-host of WFNX-FM's '1 in 10,' the nation's first weekly LGBT radio program.
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