- National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (February 7)
- National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10)
- National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 20)
- HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (May 18)
- National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (May 19)
- Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (June 8)
- National HIV Testing Day (June 27)
- National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (September 18)
- National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (September 27)
- National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (October 15)
- World AIDS Day (December 1)
This article describes a two-day forum, "Bringing Gender Home: Implementing Gender-Responsive HIV/AIDS Programming for U.S. Women and Girls." The Office on Women’s Health and UNAIDS sponsored this meeting. Participants met in Washington, DC, on June 10–12, 2010.
Government in action on HIV/AIDS
The Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a mission to provide leadership to promote health equity for women and girls through sex- and gender-specific approaches. The strategy OWH uses to achieve its mission and vision includes developing innovative programs and events.
The Office on Women's Health manages several events and programs that target communities most at risk of HIV. To note the work of women in the fight against HIV/AIDS, OWH is paying tribute to women leaders and champions (PDF, 290 KB) who support other women and girls. These courageous women have shown humility and service for more than 20 years.
A new report is now available for the June 2010 Bringing Gender Home: Implementing Gender-Responsive HIV/AIDS Programming for U.S. Women and Girls forum. OWH convened the forum in partnership with UNAIDS. Participants recommended strategies to make HIV/AIDS prevention programs more responsive to the needs of women and girls. UNAIDS sponsored international gender experts who presented lessons learned and internationally-developed models of gender-responsive programming that can be adapted for use in the U.S. The final recommendations were aligned with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy goals of reducing new HIV infections, increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. Read the final report (PDF, 793 KB).
Events – Office on Women's Health
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – March 10
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day began on March 10, 2006 and has been observed each year since. Its goal is to raise awareness in all sectors of the U.S. of the increasing burden of HIV on women and girls in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, the observance provides an opportunity to discuss and explore the social context of women's lives and those risks and vulnerabilities which are gender specific to women and girls. Also, the observance is a tool to promote discussion, information sharing, and the opportunity to provide the facts on how to prevent infection as well as how to live with the disease. National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is patterned after other awareness observances.
For more information, visit the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day website.
Programs – Office on Women's Health
- Girls at Greater Risk - HIV Prevention for Female Adolescents/Youth at Greater Risk for Juvenile Delinquency Project
- HIV Prevention for Women Living in the U.S. Virgin Islands
- HIV Prevention for Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico
- HIV Prevention and Support Services for Women Partners of Incarcerated/Recently Released Males
- In Community Spirit - HIV Prevention for Native Women Living in Rural and Frontier Indian Country
- Leading Ladies Promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Healthy Families: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Project
- Project HOPE: Helping Organizations Provide Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention for Women and Girls
- Straight Talk on Preventing HIV
- The Young Women's HIV/STD Mobilization Project: Moving Beyond the Messaging
Girls at Greater Risk - HIV Prevention for Female Adolescents/Youth at Greater Risk for Juvenile Delinquency Project
Project officer: Aleisha Langhorne, M.P.H., M.H.S.A.
This initiative is a gender-specific prevention education project focused on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and juvenile delinquency for at-risk female adolescents ages 9 to 16 years. This project specifically focuses on the intersection between sexually risky and juvenile delinquent behavior among female adolescents. This project is evaluation intensive and focuses on building capacity within communities to service the needs of female adolescents that are at-risk of HIV, STDs, and juvenile delinquency. It identifies and addresses the social and economic threats which contribute to the participation of female adolescents in sexually risky and delinquent behavior. It also focuses on building self-esteem and educates girls on how to cope with adverse situations. All organizations address the mental health and well-being of their young participants and provide supplemental services to past program participants. The organizations providing services under this project title are:
- Demoiselle 2 Femme, NFP
Sherida Morrison, CEO
9415 South Western Avenue - Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60643
Website: http://www.demoiselle2femme.org - Family Services Unlimited, Inc.
Chelette Holden
1717 Marshall Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
Email: fsu2421@aol.com - Messages of Empowerment Productions, LLC
Quinn M. Gentry, Ph.D., M.B.A.
3355 Lenox Road - Suite 730
Atlanta, GA 30326
Email: drquinn@messagesofempowerment.com
Website: http://www.messagesofempowerment.com - Orange County Bar Foundation
Nazly Restrepo, Project Director
313 N. Birch Street - 2nd Floor
Santa Ana, CA 92702
Email: nrestrepo@ocbarfoundation.org
Website: http://www.ocbarfoundation.org -
Research and Evaluation Solutions, Inc (REESSI)
Laverne Morrow Carter, Ph.D., M.P.H., President/Chief Program Officer
6188B Old Franconia Road
Alexandria, VA 22310
Email: Lmcarter@reessi.com - Sage Associates, Inc.
Deborah P. Scott
4407 Rose Street
Houston, TX 77007
Email: dsscott@sageways.com or dscott.sageways@gmail.com
Website: http://www.sageassociatesinc.com - Visionary Vanguard Group, Inc.
Lauren Josephs, Ph.D., L.M.H.C.
1392 Lake Baldwin Lane - Suite B
Orlando, FL 32814
Email: ljosephs@vvgroup.net - WestCare Foundation, Inc.
Shawn A. Jenkins, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
PO Box 12107
Fresno, CA 93776
Email: shawn.jenkins@westcare.com
Website: http://www.westcare.com - Women Accepting Responsibility
Ashley R. Cunningham, Project Director
2300 Garrison Blvd. - Suite 150
Baltimore, MD 21216
Email: stonewood01234@msn.com - Youth In Action, Inc.
Shawntell World, Executive Director
2515 East 5th Street
Panama City, FL 32401
Email: youthinaction@bellsouth.net
Website: http://www.yiaonline.org
HIV Prevention for Women Living in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
This initiative supports gender-specific prevention education projects providing accurate and comprehensive information on HIV/AIDS prevention and healthy behaviors for women living in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Helping Others in a Positive Environment (HOPE), Inc.
Ivy Moses, Program Director
The Professional Building, Suite #23
1 Forts Strade
St. Thomas, VI 00802
Email: imoses@hopeincvi.org - Per Ankh, Inc.
Dr. Chenzira D. Kahina, Managing Director
P.O. Box 607
Kingshill, St. Croix, VI 00851-0607
Email: perankh@gmail.com
HIV Prevention for Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
This initiative supports gender-specific prevention education projects targeting women living with HIV/AIDS. It increases access to care, improves knowledge of protective behaviors, and reduces isolation of women living with HIV.
- Iniciativa Communitaria de Investigacion, Inc.
Juan C. Espinosa Charriez, Prevention Director
Calle Quisqueya #61 Esq, Chile
San Juan, PR 00918
Email: espinosa_charriez@yahoo.com - University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus
P.O. Box 365067
San Juan, PR 00936
Carmen D. Zorrilla, M.D., Director
Email: carmen.zorrilla@upr.edu
Lourdes De Jesus, Administrator
Email: ldejesus@rcm.upc.edu
Janic Perez, Clinic Coordinator
Email: Janice.perezl@upr.edu - Concilio de Salud Integral de Loiza, Inc.
Maria Rodriquez, M.D., Medical Officer
Apartado 509
Carretera #188 Int.#187
P.O. Box 509
Loiza, PR 00772
Email: csiloi@prtc.net or csiloi3@coqui.net
HIV Prevention and Support Services for Women Partners of Incarcerated/Recently Released Males
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
This initiative supports gender-specific demonstration projects for HIV/AIDS continuum of care and prevention services for incarcerated and newly-released women disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.
- The Regents of the University of California San Francisco
Dr. Megan Mahoney, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor
Office of Sponsored Research
San Francisco, CA 94118
Email: mmahoney@fcm.ucsf.edu - The Osborne Association
809 Westchester Avenue
Bronx, NY 10455
Elizabeth Gaynes, Executive Director
Email: egaynes@osborneny.org
Jacqueline Payne, Quality Assurance and Contract Manager
Email: jpayne@osborneny.org
Marcella Tillett, Project Coordinator
Email: mtillett@osborneny.org
Dicxon Valderruten, Program Director
Email: dvalderruten@osborneny.org - Center for Health Justice, Inc.
8235 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 214
West Hollywood, CA 90045
Cajetan Luna, Executive Director
Email: cajetan@healthjustice.net
Mary Sylla, Director of Policy and Advocacy
Email: mary@healthjustice.net
Cathy Olufs, Education Director
Email: cathy@healthjustice.net - Metropolitan Charities, Inc.
Lynne Mullen, Grant Writer
3170 3rd Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33713
Email: lynnem@metrocharities.org - Calvary Healthcare, Inc.
Katitia Pitts, Executive Director
802 Rhode Island Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Email: kpitts@calvaryhealthcare.org - AIDS Action Coalition of Huntsville
Mary Elizabeth Marr
600 St. Clair Avenue, Building 6
Huntsville, AL 35801
Email: memarr@aidsactioncoalition.org - Recovery Resource Council
Ronna Huckaby, Chief Operations Officer
2700 Airport Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76111
Email: r.huckaby@recoverycouncil.org - South Side Help Center
Vanessa Smith, Executive Director
10420 S. Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60628
Email: vsmith@southsidehelp.org
In Community Spirit - HIV Prevention for Native Women Living in Rural and Frontier Indian Country
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
This is a gender-specific HIV prevention education project that integrates the strengths of traditions, values, culture, and spirituality indigenous to the targeted communities.
- Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Jessica Leston, Program Manager
4000 Ambassador Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Email: jdleston@anthc.org - National Indian Women's Health Resource Center
Pamela E. Iron, Executive Director
228 South Muskogee Avenue
Tahlequah, OK 74464
Email: peiron@niwhrc.org - Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.
Gwenda Gorman, Health Promotions Program Director
2214 N. Central Avenue, Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Email: gwenda.gorman@itcaonline.com - Salish Kootenai College - Nursing Dept.
Niki Graham, Programs Director
58138 US Hwy 93
PO Box 70
Pablo, MT 59855
Email: niki_graham@skc.edu - Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/North Dakota/South Dakota
Kim Rossow, Director of Education and Outreach
1965 Ford Parkway
Saint Paul, MN 55116-1923
Email: krossow@ppmns.org - National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
Robert Foley, Acting, Executive Director
720 S. Colorado Boulevard, Suite 650-S
Denver, CO 80246
Email: rfoley@nnaapc.org
Leading Ladies Promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Healthy Families: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Project
Project officer: Aleisha Langhorne, M.P.H., M.H.S.A.
This project expands the scope of the National HIV Testing Mobilization Campaign by engaging faith-based organizations (FBOs). The project targets female clergy, female spouses of pastors, and other female leaders within FBOs. The project focuses on capacity building within FBOs while implementing gender-responsive prevention education models for minority women and their families within a faith-based setting. HIV/AIDS prevention education is relevant to stigma and HIV/AIDS, heterosexual HIV/AIDS risk behavior, denial of HIV/AIDS risk, sexual and reproductive health education, communication and condom negotiation skills building, and healthy sexual relationship messages in the scope of holistic health and wellness. The organizations providing services under this project title are:
- Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention, Inc.
Marie-Jose Francois
641 North Rio Grande Avenue
Orlando, FL 32805
Email: mjfrancois@cmwp.org - Garden of Hope Community Development Center
Sharon Houston
1317 East Brambleton Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23504-4307
Email: farwestrd27@yahoo.com - Iris House: A Center for Women Living with HIV, Inc.
Ingrid Floyd
2348 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
New York, NY 10030
Email: ifloyd@irishouse.com - RAIN, Inc.
Geneva Galloway
North Tryon Street
4th Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
Email: g.galloway@carolinarain.org
Project HOPE: Helping Organizations Provide Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention for Women and Girls
Project officer: Aleisha Langhorne, M.P.H., M.H.S.A.
Grantees will provide free information, training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to individuals, organizations, and communities. Their funds help organizations efficiently operate and increase their capacity to effectively deliver culturally competent, linguistically appropriate, and evidence-based interventions and core public health strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention. They implement gender-responsive strategies within their programs. Funded organizations also market, disseminate, and train participants using the HIV Prevention Gender Toolkit for US Women, set to be released in 2011.
- JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.
Jacqueline Nolan
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02210-1211
Email: jnolan@jsi.com - National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
Robert Foley
720 South Colorado Boulevard
Suite 650-S
Denver, CO 80246
Email: rfoley@nnapc.org
Straight Talk on Preventing HIV
Project officer: Mary Bowers, M.S.W.
The Straight Talk on Preventing HIV Program (multi-year for three years) develops gender and age-specific, culturally, and linguistically-appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention education to reach at-risk racial and ethnic minorities. The program works with African-American, Latina/Hispanic, and Native American females ages 12 – 18 and the female adults in their families. Mother, grandmothers, and other female members of the family (such as cousins and kinship network members) are taught how to demonstrate their love and support for their teenagers with healthy communication skills targeting physical heath, emotional health, and sexual health. With the use of behavioral health therapists, health educators, and art therapists, participants are given multiple outlets to recognize their at-risk behaviors, get tested for HIV, develop regular appointments with the behavior health therapist to receive counseling, and strategize how best to change at-risk behaviors. Through the demonstration of love and caring expressed through healthy communication skills about sexual health, teenagers use the support of other female family members as a catalyst to get tested for HIV and change their at-risk behaviors. Additionally, participants learn to include physician's visits as a regular part of their healthcare.
- National Indian Women's Health Resource Center
Pamela E. Iron, Executive Director
228 S. Muskogee Avenue
Tahelquah, OK 74464-3836 - Union Temple Baptist Church
Mary L. Wilson, Church Administrator
1225 W Street, SE
Washington, DC 20020-5775 - National Black Women's Health Project
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, President and CEO
1726 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-4502 - Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center
Dr. Martha Ellen Black, Executive Director
207 N. Washington Street
East Prairie, MO 63845-1141 - California State University Long Beach Foundation
Denise Bell, Director
6300 State University Drive
Long Beach, CA 90815-4670 - Community Health Interventions
Mary McAllister, Executive Director
2409 Murchison Road
Fayetteville, NC 28301-3519
The Young Women's HIV/STD Mobilization Project: Moving Beyond the Messaging
Project officer: Aleisha Langhorne, M.P.H., M.H.S.A.
The Office on Women's Health developed this project to reach young women between the ages of 13 and 24 years to provide accurate and comprehensive sexual health education and promote healthy behaviors to maintain holistic health. The funded organizations will move beyond social marketing campaigns and expand the capacity of their gender-specific services to provide and implement an HIV/STD component (implementing the social and economic realities of minority female adolescents and young adults). The organizations also belong to a larger network and have an established history of servicing young women between the ages of 13 and 24 years. The organizations providing services under this project title are:
- Delta Research and Educational Foundation
LaVerne Davis
1703 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Email: farwestrd27@yahoo.com - National Council of Negro Women
Avis Jones-DeWeever
633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Email: deweever@ncnw.org
Content last updated November 8, 2011.
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