May 19th – HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

19 May

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API WELLNESS KICKS OFF NATIONAL ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY

banyan   |   May 19th - HIV/AIDS Awareness Day   |   No comment

PRESS RELEASE Stacy Lavilla [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='0' down=''] API WELLNESS KICKS OFF NATIONAL ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] SAN FRANCISCO, CA – API Wellness kicked off National API HIV/AIDS Awareness Day today by urging Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) to talk about HIV/AIDS and discuss using Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with their health care providers. [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] API Wellness, a longtime San Francisco leader in HIV/AIDS care and treatment, is increasing awareness of PrEP in hopes of increasing utilization of the drug in communities of color. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), daily PrEP use can reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent. Among individuals who inject drugs, it reduces the risk by more than 70 percent. [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] "Although API HIV/AIDS infection rates appear low, those statistics are deceptive as a significant amount of under-reporting occurs due to stigma," said Lance Toma, chief executive officer at API Wellness. "Stigma prevents people from discussing HIV/AIDS with their communities and providers which is one reason why APIs are the least likely race to get tested for HIV." [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center'...

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15 May

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May 19th is National API HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

banyan   |   May 19th - HIV/AIDS Awareness Day   |   No comment

In 2005, API Wellness spearheaded the first National Asian Pacific Islander (A&PI) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come as a community fighting against HIV and for the rights of the LGBTQ community and people of color since then. We’ve made gains I never thought we’d witness, such as the right to marry who you love and new, exciting HIV prevention tools like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Our accomplishments were laudable. [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] Today is a different day, however, and we are faced with a hostile and aggressive political climate that looks to unravel all that we have worked so hard for. Communities of color continue to bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic and are less likely to use innovative HIV prevention tools like PrEP. The same holds true for A&PI communities. The environment we find ourselves in is cause for grave concern. [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] Recent data shows that from 2010-2014, A&PIs were one of two ethnic groups that showed statistically significant rates of increase (5.5%) in HIV infection. Rates of HIV infection declined for all other groups during the same period. [vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='#ffffff' thickness='' up='1' down=''] Men account for...

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