Tagged: United States

  • How the right messaging can improve PrEP equity in the U.S.

    In the Southern United States, there is a disproportionately high rate of HIV diagnoses amongst Black and Latino men who have sex with men. However, these groups are also less likely than their white counterparts to take PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, which can safely decrease a person’s likelihood of getting HIV through sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed.

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  • Four ways to improve climate education in the U.S.

    Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing humanity, and it is only getting worse. To protect the future of all living things, we need to take collective action. Scientists and policymakers must implement a systemic response to the immediate needs, but it’s also imperative that educators equip young people to tackle the crisis.

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  • Disrupters: Building bridges, confronting historic oppression in the United States

    The decolonization movement offers new ways to understand our work in human development at home and abroad. In this episode, I speak with Edgar Villanueva, author of Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Founder of the Decolonizing Wealth Project, and Senior Vice President of Programs and Advocacy at the Schott Foundation. 

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  • Model shows intersecting secondary impacts of COVID-19 in the United States

    The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been unlike anything most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Conditions such as stay-at-home orders, wearing masks in public and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression affect all of us in different ways.

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  • The future of global development: The shape of U.S. education in the 2020s

    What are the systems, trends and ideas that are shaping education in the United States? What needs to be done to promote transformative education reform?

    In this episode of A Deeper Look podcast, I speak with education reformer Dr. Warren Simmons, currently Senior Policy Advisor at the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. We draw parallels between the challenges in education reform in the United States and in low-income countries, including how inadequate funding models can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and how successful programs can be difficult to scale and replicate. We also discuss the power of local voices and community organizing and the importance of making our education systems more culturally responsive. Dr. Simmons highlights the need for cross-sector partnerships in order to achieve lasting reform and discusses how schools and communities must work together to adapt to the future.

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  • The Green Corrections Challenge

    The primary goal of corrections in the United States is keeping the community — everyone from offenders to those who work within prisons and jails — safe. Policies and strategies within the corrections community, however, increasingly emphasize cost containment and environmental sustainability. Addressing these two goals in tandem has proven to be a great opportunity for correctional leaders and their partners.

    FHI 360’s Green Corrections project contributes to the goal of making the corrections system more environmentally sustainable by facilitating the sharing of effective practices and lessons learned.

    A recent competition, the Green Corrections Challenge, highlighted exciting and innovative green practices in local, state and federal correctional facilities and reentry programs in the United States. The competition, part of the Green Corrections project, showed how dedicated corrections professionals are minimizing negative environmental impacts, saving taxpayer dollars and preparing offenders for green jobs.

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  • AIDSWatch 2014: Science and advocacy coming together

    What is AIDSWatch?

    AIDSWatch is an annual event in DC. Hundreds of people come from across the United States to educate members of Congress and other senior government officials about the impact of HIV in their communities and lives and to discuss strategies for ending the HIV epidemic. Public health officials, policy advocates, leaders from community-based organizations and people living with HIV seek to gain vital support for lifesaving programs and services.

    The event includes a briefing on key policy issues and HIV-related programs, scheduled visits with members of Congress and the Positive Leadership awards reception. Participants learn about the budget and appropriations process, critical programs serving people with HIV — such as the Ryan White CARE Act and the Affordable Care Act — and effective HIV prevention strategies. The event includes a “telling your story” session to help participants communicate their experience to policymakers and networking sessions to share resources.

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  • Ending AIDS Among Latino Americans: ¡Sí se puede!

    The past three years have seen tremendous breakthroughs in HIV prevention research. Since 2009, we have seen the first vaccine to show effectiveness, a microbicide that was found to be modestly efficacious and two studies demonstrating that an HIV medication could be used as a pre-exposure prophylaxis or could reduce new infections by treating those with HIV earlier. These advances have led many to herald a new era in our 30-year campaign to end the epidemic.

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  • The Co-founder of National HIV Testing Day asks, “Why do we need a special day for HIV testing?"

    Today, June 27, is National HIV Testing Day in the United States. It is an observance that is now recognized in many countries around the globe. Why set aside a special day for something that should be a routine part of medical care for people at risk of getting HIV? Because ending the stigma of HIV and creating multiple opportunities for testing is an urgent need in our effort to create an AIDS-free generation.

    In the late 1980s, many of my friends had died of AIDS or were very sick. The decision to get an HIV test was not an easy one. But in 1986, I went for an HIV test at Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, DC, because it was important for me to know my HIV status. This was at a time when there were few treatment options, and the testing process involved a long and scary wait for your results. In 1995, I worked with my colleagues at the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) and we created National HIV Testing Day. This effort was designed to help reduce the stigma of HIV testing and to normalize it as a component of regular health screening. At that time, there was a lot of fear about testing. Because there were few treatments, many thought it unnecessary. People who were known to be HIV positive were subjected to being fired from their jobs or becoming victims of violence. At NAPWA, we believed it was important to confront this situation by encouraging people to “Take the Test, Take Control.” We also believed that the more of us who stood up, the less the world would be able to ignore the epidemic.

    Last week, members of parliament in Zimbabwe provided the type of leadership needed in the United States and worldwide to end the stigma of HIV testing. Over 47 legislators, and 60 of their staff, underwent voluntary counseling and public testing for HIV in an effort to encourage other citizens to follow suit. As a result, Blessing Chebundo, chairman of the Zimbabwe Parliamentarians Against AIDS, told SW Radio Africa that, “181 people went through the doors for testing, and 23 men underwent circumcision (proven to reduce the risk of HIV infection).”

    Today, there are dozens of treatments available to keep people with HIV healthy. There is excitement also about the progress we are making in biomedical prevention interventions such as circumcision, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and treatment as prevention. HIV testing itself is easier and quicker with results available in 20 minutes. The promise of these new opportunities begins with everyone knowing their HIV status without fear of discrimination, stigma or violence.

    To learn more about National HIV Testing Day, visit the website here.

  • U.S. Education Blog Series: Prepared to Succeed