Housing Is Prevention Battle Cry of SummitThe eighth North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit will be held September 14th through 16th, 2015, in Washington, DC. The scope of Summit VIII is expanded to include the full range of social drivers of HIV, including poverty, housing status, food security, employment, incarceration, race/ethnicity, behavioral health issues, stigma and intimate partner violence. What impact do these drivers have on health disparities? What policies and programs can influence these drivers or mitigate their negative effects.
Despite new treatment and prevention technologies that provide the tools needed to end AIDS, unmet subsistence needs, social marginalization, criminalization of behaviors and other structural factors continue to drive the HIV epidemic. Social factors leave key populations at significantly higher risk of HIV infection. They also limit access to treatment, care and support services. They increase health disparities and fuel poorer health outcomes. Because of these social drivers, HIV is increasingly concentrated among people and populations marginalized by poverty, homelessness, inequity, stigma and substance use.
Growing evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of structural interventions in strengthening HIV prevention and treatment programs. These interventions include social protections (such as housing, nutrition and transportation supports), economic empowerment (including education and job training), decriminalization, anti-discrimination laws and campaigns to change social norms.
Rigorous research on social drivers and structural interventions is critical to lay the groundwork for these types of approaches and to support their scale-up.
World Water Day
A day to celebrate, a day to change, a day to prepare.
World Water Day was marked on March 22 as day to celebrate water. Water you say? Yes, Water.
It's that life affirming solution that most of us take for granted whether it's tap, still or bottled, water is a commodity that should be of concern to everyone on the planet. Especially those who don't have water equity and those who have to go to great lengths to access it.
According to the UN Water website, they cite that the event is a "day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues. It’s a day to prepare for how we manage water in the future."
Although locally we've been embroiled in the rigors of a rouge legislature, COP 24/7 was intrigued that local fraternity Nu Delta has announced its international service project to support The Water Project.(www.thewaterproject.org)
On their Facebook announcement page they state, "our gifts will be used to construct or rehabilitate a water project, like a well or sand dam, in Africa."
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March as the first World Water Day. 22 years later, World Water Day is celebrated around the world shining the spotlight on a different issue every year. This issue is also the theme of the annual UN World Water Development Report which is launched on World Water Day.
In 2015, the theme for World Water Day is 'Water and Sustainable Development'. It’s about how water links to all areas we need to consider to create the future we want.
Each year, UN-Water provides resources to inspire celebrations for World Water Day.
- See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/about/en/#sthash.hliVjvlL.dpufArkansas RAPPS Seeks Participants
Arkansas RAPPS ( Reaching, Affirming, Positive, Progressive, Systems), a Community Connector Initiative contractor and LinQ for Life, Incorporated program is seeking participants for several
impending projects.
The Reflections of Shattered Mirror literary & resource guide is preparing to finalizes it content choices and is open to receiving "lived experience" content either in prose, poetry, essay, photo or graphic arts. The project revolves around the nexus of social justice and social determinants that impact outcomes. Individuals are encourage to forward their pieces to Nealix101@comcast.net with "Reflections content," in the memo section. This project is supported by The Bush-Mallon Institute for Social Justice.
A video spin off project from the UALR Mass Communication's class is moving forward with plans to create a micro documentary with a possible associated social media campaign to bring a renewed Arkansas awareness about HIV & AIDS. Arkansas RAPPS presented to the Public Relations and Mass Media classes earlier this month about the impact of this chronic disease in our state and to share updates around medical breakthroughs. Students participated in a Q & A session in preparation to created content pieces for their class projects to include both social media platforms and a 30 second commercial.
Since that presentation, there was additional interest in building out from that presentation into another wider project with sights on possibly sharing at local film festivals. The project is seeking personal testimony material and other collaborative information to be included in the final product.
Arkansas RAPPS also has been offered to serve as a satellite HIV Planning Group division to assist with facilitating tenants of the main groups efforts to decrease infection rates. Currently they are seeking a core group of local individuals who would like to use Arkansas RAPPS as a conduit to further plan and execute local programming around outreach, awareness, intervention, linkage to care or other wrap around services in our areas. If you are interested, please send a e-mail stating your interest and identifying at least one item that you are passionate about and will be committed to fulfilling. If you need more information about Arkansas HIV Planning Group check out the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/arkansasHIVplanninggroup or send your notice to Nealix101@comcast.net
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