Blog AIDS Gov, 29 July 2014

Editor's note: This is the first in an occasional series of reflective posts about social media use in support of messages for the national health observances.

April 10, 2014 marked the second annual National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day Exit Disclaimer (NYHAAD), a day of action to put young people at the center of the conversation around HIV in our country, highlighting both the impact of HIV & AIDS on young people and their role in responding to the epidemic. Today we reflect on the use of Twitter, Facebook and infographics around NYHAAD.
Meeting Young People Where They Are

In preparation for NYHAAD, Advocates for Youth Exit Disclaimer recognized that efforts had to be driven by young people, and recruited 17 Youth Ambassadors across the country to share their stories, illustrating the impact of HIV on young people and the barriers they face in seeking the information, testing, and treatment they need. The work of the Ambassadors exceeded our expectations, and their action resulted in blog posts, events nationwide, and proclamations of NYHAAD by the mayors of Gainesville, Florida, and Seattle, Washington.

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Miami Herald, 28 July 2014

Coming in third may mean a bronze medal at the Olympics, but in Florida, data shows that three is not a cause for celebration. The Sunshine State ranks third in the nation for the cumulative number of AIDS cases, and it's the third worst state for physician shortages.

An article looking at the HIV/AIDS crisis in America went so far as to say that Florida and other Southern states have cumulatively "emerged as ground zero." This is why prevention is so critical.

June 27 marked the 20th annual National HIV Testing Day — a day that we put a lot of energy into because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six people with HIV don't know they have it. Treatment is also critical, and options are coming from what many initially seem like an unlikely place: mobile broadband-enabled devices like smartphones.

Consider this, and you'll see why it's a natural convergence: The U.S. healthcare system already amounts to about 17 percent of GDP, and that number is expected to rise as demand for healthcare increases. As a society we are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile devices. In a recent study from Bank of America, nearly half of the respondents said they couldn't live without their smartphones, and more than 90 percent said they are "very important."

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Tribun News, 29 Juli 2014

Meningkatnya angka infeksi HIV di Indonesia bukan lantas harus ditanggapi sebagai hal yang buruk. Bahkan, peningkatan tersebut justru bisa dilihat sebagai tanda kemajuan.

Pendapat ini diungkapkan oleh Steven J Kraus, Direktur Regional Support Team kawasan Asia Pasifik UNAIDS, yaitu badan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa yang bekerja di bidang HIV/AIDS.

Dalam rilis pers UNAIDS tertanggal 16 Juli 2014, Indonesia disebut termasuk negara yang dianggap tertinggal dalam kemajuan melawan HIV.

Indonesia bersama lima negara lain dikatakan menghadapi tiga ancaman, yaitu beban HIV yang berat, cakupan pengobatan yang rendah, dan rendahnya tingkat penurunan infeksi HIV.

Dalam laporan 'Gap Report' UNAIDS yang diterbitkan tahun ini, disebutkan bahwa Infeksi HIV baru di Indonesia meningkat sebesar 48 persen.

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the New Indian Express, 28 July 2014

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society is launching Deepika Smart Card for HIV/AIDS patients, APSACS joint director (basic services) JC Reddy has said.

The Smart Card includes five aspects: addiction to smoking, drugs, etc; suspicion of tuberculosis; marital status, travel for long distances; any reproductive tract infections; sexually transmitted infections.

Designed as a self-evaluating system, people can fill the smart card, evaluate the grades and determine on their own if they are prone to HIV/AIDS. "As grades increase, vulnerability increases," Reddy says.

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the Times of India, 29 July 2014

PANAJI: The parent teacher association (PTA) body's refusal to allow admission to HIV-positive children in a Rivona school has brought into sharp focus the lack of awareness about HIV/ AIDS among the general population in the state though Goa state aids control society (GSACS), a nodal department entrusted with enlightening people about HIV, is active for over a decade.

While GSACS is given credit for generating awareness about the deadly disease among high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers, truck drivers, motorcycle pilots, the Sanguem incident emphasizes the GSACS' need to also focus on the general population and work towards eliminating stigma attached to HIV AIDS.

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