The Texas/Oklahoma AIDS Education and Training Center has come out with a new brochure available for HIV+ travelers in both English and Spanish. “Traveling to Mexico & Latin America Brochures”  includes helpful tips for persons with HIV/AIDS traveling to Mexico and Latin America as well as contact information to help the patient obtain the names, phone numbers and addresses of doctors who take care of people living with HIV/AIDS, at or near where they are going.

The website also contains other brochures like “Crossing the Border: Continuity of Care for HIV-Infected Patients Returning to Mexico” and pocket cards for HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

You can find the brochures here: http://bit.ly/NcyM6m

Greg Millett, Senior policy advisor in the Office of National AIDS Policy, says the president’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy has improved coordination among federal agencies to increase access to care for those living with HIV/AIDS. Goals are to reduce the number of new infections, to increase access to care for people living with HIV, and to reduce HIV/AIDS-related disparities.

http://bit.ly/ODWAKe

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the new use of Truvada—to be taken once daily and used in combination with safer sex practices—to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults who do not have HIV but are at high risk of becoming infected. (HIV-1 is the most common form of HIV.)

In two large clinical trials, daily use of Truvada was shown to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection

• by 42 percent in a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of about 2,500 HIV-negative gay and bisexual men and transgender women, and
• by 75 percent in a study sponsored by the University of Washington of about 4,800 heterosexual couples in which one partner was HIV positive and the other was not.” [FDA Consumer Report, 16 July 2012]

Read the complete Consumer Report: http://1.usa.gov/M65AbP

Susannah Fox, of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, will present at the AIDS.gov satellite session of “The State of News Media and HIV” during the Interantional AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 2012.

The session aims to encourage a conversation within the HIV/AIDS community to:

• Assess the role new media can play in HIV prevention, testing, and treatment (in partnership with clients and stakeholders) to extend the reach of their work; and,
• Use new media and emerging technologies, as appropriate, to move toward an AIDS-free generation.

Fox will contribute the Pew Internet Project’s latest data on social media use in the U.S.

For more information: http://bit.ly/LUy9O3 [blog.AIDS.gov, June 19, 2012]

Americans will soon be able to test themselves in the privacy of their own homes for the virus that causes AIDS, now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first rapid, over-the-counter HIV test.

The OraQuick test detects the presence of HIV antibodies using a mouth swab and returns a result in 20 to 40 minutes.

Government officials estimate that about 240,000 people, or one-fifth of the roughly 1.2 million people carrying HIV in the U.S., don’t know they are infected. Testing is a chief means of slowing new infections, which have held steady at about 50,000 per year for two decades.

FDA officials said the test is designed for people who might not otherwise get tested.

“The availability of a home-use HIV test kit provides another option for individuals to get tested so that they can seek medical care, if appropriate,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Orasure plans to start selling the test in October, both online and through retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart. It hasn’t set a price yet but expects the consumer version to cost less than $60 but more than the one marketed to health professionals, which costs about $17.50. CEO Doug Michels said the price increase will help pay for a toll-free call center to provide counseling and medical referrals to test users.

Rest of article at Source: http://huff.to/LWXZdJ

For full OraQuick press release: http://bit.ly/Nb2WDZ

July 11, 2012 – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Mountain Time)

The National Native Americans AIDS Prevention Center (NNAAPC), in partnership with the National Indian Health Board is pleased to announce upcoming free webinars.  The goal of these webinars is to provide participants with dynamic and innovative learning opportunities to prevent the spread of HIV in Native communities.

Last webinar in the series:
Culturally Appropriate Linkages to Care
July 11, 2012 – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Mountain Time)

For more information and to register, click here: http://bit.ly/LPdvbE

On National HIV Testing Day (June 27), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that AIDS.gov, the gateway to all federal HIV /AIDS information and resources, has been relaunched and redesigned using responsive design.

Responsive web design is a next-generation web development method of designing content so that it works well on both a laptop screen and a smartphone, automatically adjusting its size to fit the screen. AIDS.gov is among the first full-scale federal websites launched using responsive design.

More information including the full press release: http://1.usa.gov/MNwLbd [HHS Press Release, June 27, 2012]

Family and Youth Services Bureau Basic Center Program

Administration for Children and Families  - Grants to establish programs that address needs of runaway and homeless youth.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: July 9 2012

For more information: http://bit.ly/Kg6zna

Family Respite Care Grant

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America – Funding to help alleviate the cost of respite care for families caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: November 1 2012

More information: http://bit.ly/Mf59gC

Affordable Care Act  – Grants for School-Based Health Center Capital (ABHCC) Program

Bureau of Primary Health Care  - Grants to support school-based health center efforts to expand capacity to provide primary healthcare services to school-aged children.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: June 26 2012

More information: http://bit.ly/JX6U32

National HIV Program for Enhanced HIV/AIDS Screening and Engagement in Care

Indian Health Service  - The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to meet community needs for the enhancement of HIV/AIDS testing activities and the provision of HIV/AIDS-related services among AI/AN people. Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: July 30 2012

More information: http://bit.ly/MHE06h

Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children

Health Smiles, Healthy Children – Grants to support local service initiatives that provide dental care to underserved children.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: August 1 2012

More information: http://bit.ly/KWPpwQ

CVS Caremark Charitable Trust

CVS Caremark  - Grant support to organizations that are most effective at creating positive and measurable outcomes for children with disabilities and providing healthcare services for underserved populations.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide

Deadline: July 29 2012

More Information: http://bit.ly/Ma7f1d

National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is an annual campaign coordinated by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage people of all ages to “Take the Test, Take Control.”

Too many people don’t know they have HIV. In the United States, nearly 1.2 million people are living with HIV, and almost one in five don’t know they are infected. Getting tested is the first step to finding out if you have HIV. If you have HIV, getting medical care and taking medicines regularly helps you live a longer, healthier life and also lowers the chances of passing HIV on to others.

Promote Testing Day on the Web and on the street. Find online tools and posters here: http://bit.ly/MsGJN3

National Native American AIDS Prevention Center, in partnership with the National Indian Health Board announces a series upcoming free webinars.  The goal of the webinars is to provide participants with dynamic and innovative learning opportunities to prevent the spread of HIV in Native communities.  The next webinar in the series is:

Incorporating Tradition Medicine Into HIV Prevention And Treatment
June 21, 2012: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Mountain Time
Pre-registration required.

To register, click here: http://bit.ly/NN8hmv