AIDS United

Stepping Forward about HIV Status

By Michael Kaplan, AIDS United President and CEO

Last month I attended a summit about raising HIV/AIDS awareness in the gay community. It was a spirited discussion, as we all sought to determine where we might best invest our efforts to have the most impact.  Much has changed in this world since I first tested HIV positive in 1992. Today's extraordinary treatment options have far fewer side effects and less toxicity than when I was on AZT back in the early days of the epidemic. Today, more HIV-positive people are living longer than ever before due to treatment. For many of them, death is more likely related to smoking, heart health or a cause other than the virus itself. Today we know that early treatment is not only critical to extending and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV, but can reduce the likelihood that they will transmit the virus to their sexual partners by 96 percent!  Read Michael's entire Huffington Post blog piece

Aware Enough

An AIDS United Grantee Reflects on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

by Diedra J. Levi, CEO, Living Affected Corporation

As a Black person, I can tell you that an awareness day is rhetorical because we are aware. We simply haven’t had enough. We haven’t had enough of dying when we don’t have to. We haven’t had enough funerals. We haven’t had enough of seeing someone darken and waste away. We are aware. We are aware that Black gay men are more at risk. We are aware that Black gay men are more likely to be infected. We are aware that Black gay men are more likely to not get the proper treatment and die from this disease. We are aware that Black women are 20 times more likely to become infected with HIV than White women. We simply haven’t had enough. Read Diedra's full blog post

AIDS United Announces $1 Million Investment in Grants to Help HIV-Positive People Stay in Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- February 4, 2013 – Thanks to a $4 million investment by the MAC AIDS Fund and a unique partnership with AIDS United, $1 million in initial grants have been awarded to seven organizations across the U.S. to help define and expand programs that help keep HIV-positive people in care and on treatment.  At a time where treatment has proven effective not only in prolonging the life of those infected with HIV, but in substantially reducing transmission of new infections, retention in care has proven critical to the continued fight against the disease. Read more

AIDS United Announces Investments in 6 Puerto Rico Organizations for HIV Prevention Programs

WASHINGTON.  January 30, 2013 – Thanks to $155K in grant investments from AIDS United, six community-based organizations in Puerto Rico will have expanded capacity for vital HIV prevention services in one of the most disproportionately-affected areas in the United States and its territories.  The support from AIDS United comes from a funding partnership with Johnson & Johnson, H. van Ameringen Foundation, MAC AIDS Fund, Merck Corporation, and Elton John AIDS Foundation. Read more

Register Now for AIDSWatch 2013

February 25 and 26, 2013, Washington, D.C.

Join the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), the Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP), AIDS United, and hundreds of your fellow advocates for AIDSWatch 2013.  Click here for more information and/or to register.