World HIV/Aids Day a chance for awareness

Against the backdrop of AIDS memorial quilts, public health leaders stood with people living with HIV to describe the goals of END-HIV Oregon.

“With these aggressive new actions and new, far-reaching goals, we will continue to do everything in our power to end the AIDS epidemic in NY and forge a path for the rest of the world to follow”.

Duckett was diagnosed with Syphilis in 2012.

That is when he says his health rapidly declined.

“Today please go out everyone and get tested”. “So these patients that are infected but don’t know they’re infected are spreading the disease around without knowing”.

What he did not know, is that the diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. “We’re still at a basic level when it comes to talking to people on how it’s transmitted, how it can be prevented and ways to support people living with HIV”, said Vanderschaeghe.

Hubbard said, in the African American community, “Mum’s the word, nobody wants to speak about it”.

She said there is a new technology that encourages private testing of HIV; the kit will hopefully be available in Nigeria soon. According to the Baton Rouge AIDS Society, Louisiana ranks fifth highest in the country for AIDS case rates and 12th in the number of AIDS cases diagnosed. The CDC’s website lists a risk for 1 in 4 gay Latino men, and 1 in 11 gay Caucasian men. Let us all take the challenge to end AIDS.” A CARPHA release said that numerous obstacles that have impeded effective HIV prevention and treatment still exist today. “We do get feedback that people don’t even realize, no matter how much we promote it, they still don’t realize that we’re even here”. Right now, they say their focus is spreading awareness around the community and making the pill easily accessible to those who may need it.