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New AIDS advisory panel sworn in at White House

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At least seven LGBT people are among the 24 newly appointed members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.

The induction of the new PACHA members, who Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gave the oath of office Feb. 2, comes six months after Sebelius dismissed all of the presidential advisory body’s existing members, who were appointed under the Bush administration. Among them were at least three gay members.

The induction of the new members also followed the appointment of veteran AIDS researcher and former U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention official Dr. Helene Gayle as chair of PACHA. Sebelius made the appointment in August.

“When we came into office, the president had new goals for a national HIV strategy,” said Jeff Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and one of President Obama’s gay appointees. “So we chose over the summer to renew the [PACHA] charter and made the decision to reconstitute it … so it was aligned with our goals going forward.”

Crowley told DC Agenda that the White House and HHS, which oversees PACHA, announced last fall that they were seeking recommendations for prospective new members of the presidential advisory body from a wide range of AIDS constituencies, including community groups, medical professionals, researchers, service providers, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

He said the White House and HHS vetted prospective appointees through the fall and early winter before selecting the new appointees and calling them to Washington on Feb. 2 for their induction and orientation meetings.

“Today, I’m pleased to have a new group of experts joining PACHA,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “And I look forward to hearing from the council about our continued efforts to prevent the spread of HIV infections in the United States and to provide care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.”

Sebelius told the new PACHA members and representatives of state and national AIDS advocacy organizations attending the ceremony that PACHA would serve as a “platform for the administration to share our plans and insights” on future AIDS programs and proposals.

“One of the best parts about this group is that you come from a wide range of backgrounds, with experts in domestic and international AIDS, experts from rural areas and large urban centers, experts representing straight and gay communities,” she said.

“And I’m counting on you to keep me up to date on all of these groups’ concerns, priorities, and insights,” she said.

Gale, the new PACHA chairperson, echoed that view.

“Our role is to be the outside voice that advises the insiders,” she said.

President Bill Clinton created PACHA to serve as the nation’s first presidential advisory panel on AIDS-related issues. Since then, the panel has met three or four times a year, with its stated objective of providing the president with independent, non-partisan recommendations on how to curtail AIDS in the U.S. and globally.

Clinton started a precedent of appointing prominent LGBT people from various fields and professions to the panel. President George W. Bush continued that practice, naming a number of gay Republicans and AIDS activists from the LGBT community.

Some AIDS activists raised objections when Bush also appointed prominent conservative activists to the advisory panel, including advocates of “abstinence only until marriage” policies for the nation’s HIV prevention programs.

The new PACHA appointees in the Obama administration — which were made by Sebelius with White House consultation — include at least seven gay men who have been involved in HIV/AIDS related work.

They include:

• A. Cornelius Baker, former executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic and the National Association of People With AIDS and current policy advisor for the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition.

• Praveenh Basaviah, an LGBT youth advocate who worked as a program director at the National Centers on Sexuality in San Francisco and served as a Clinton School of Government fellow in India, where he worked on AIDS-related projects.

• Douglas Brooks, a licensed clinical social worker who serves as vice president of health services for the Justice Resource Institute in Boston.

• Humberto Cruz, director of the AIDS Institute of the New York State Department of Health, where he oversees HIV prevention programs, clinical health care and public health and HIV-related education for health care providers.

• Michael Horberg, physician and HIV and infectious disease specialist who serves as HIV/AIDS Director for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., and former chair of the National Lesbian & Gay Medical Association.

• Jack Jackson, HIV/AIDS advocate for American Indians and Alaska Natives living in tribal and urban communities and former member of the board of the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center in Arizona.

• Phil Wilson, founder and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute and former AIDS coordinator for the City of Los Angeles.

These additional PACHA members members have a public record of involvement in LGBT related health issues:

• Robert Greenwald, managing attorney for the Wilmer Hale Legal Services Center in Massachusetts and director of Harvard University Law School’s Health Law & Policy Clinic and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Law Clinic.

• Ejay Jack, graduate assistant at the multicultural affairs office of the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and former director of the university’s Gender & Sexual Orientation Student Agency and member of the university’s Sexual & Gender Equality Task Force. He helped organize a campus National Coming Out Day celebration in 2008 that included students, faculty, and family members.

The three gay menbers of PACHA who were previously dismissed by Sebelius, along with the other members, were Carl Schmid, deputy executive diector fo the AIDS Institute, a national AIDS advocacy group; Robert Kabel, an attorney, former board chair of Log Cabin Republicans and the current chair fo the D.C. Republican Party; and Antonio Urbina, a New York phycian assocaited with HIV/AIDS programs at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Manhattan.

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Health

UNAIDS to commemorate Zero Discrimination Day’s 10th anniversary

UN agency urges global action to protect human rights

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A UNAIDS anti-discrimination exhibit at Tocumen International Airport in Panama in 2018. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day; UNAIDS is sounding the alarm on the increasing threats to human rights, calling for renewed efforts to protect the rights of all individuals as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for everyone.

Established by UNAIDS a decade ago, Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote equality and fairness regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or HIV status. The progress achieved over the past years is now in jeopardy, however, due to rising attacks on the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the critical link between protecting human rights and safeguarding public health. 

“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health,” she said in a press release. “Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030. It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”

Despite challenges, there has been notable progress. 

At the onset of the AIDS pandemic more than 40 years ago, two-thirds of countries criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. They are now decriminalized in two-thirds of countries. An additional 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, contributing to positive changes that include 50 million more girls attending school compared to 2015.

To sustain and enhance these advancements; UNAIDS urges global support for women’s rights movements, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and peace initiatives. By standing with communities advocating for their rights, the U.N. aims to reinforce the collective effort towards a more inclusive and equitable world.

Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1.

Events and activities that will take place around the world throughout the month will serve as reminders of the essential lesson and call to action: Protecting everyone’s health is synonymous with protecting everyone’s rights.

“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world — for everyone,” said Byanyima.

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Health

New CDC report finds transgender women at higher risk for HIV

More than 1,600 people in seven cities surveyed

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (Photo courtesy of the CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new study report this week that revealed that restricted by employment and housing discrimination and lack of access to needed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender women increasing the risk of contracting HIV. 

Researchers reviewed data from a 2019-2020 survey, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, which found that the demographics of HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally high, especially among Black and Latina trans women, who had experienced employment and housing discrimination coupled with lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare.

The Jan. 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was based on data studies of more than 1,600 trans women in seven major urban locales. Participants from Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were chosen by referrals from people and community-based organizations who knew or were part of the local population of trans women.

The study’s researchers noted: “Employment discrimination occurs at the overlapping nexus of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, health insurance, disability, food insecurity and survival sex work. These issues are interconnected.”

The study stated that trans women’s inability to access quality healthcare, including gender-affirming treatment or access to PrEP, and can expose them to potential incarceration as many turn to “survival sex work” and violence, which increases the risk of contracting HIV. 

The study’s author’s pointed out: “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships. This analysis …demonstrates the importance of transgender women working and living with dignity and without fear of unfair treatment.”

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Health

A Whole New Perspective on Well-Being

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

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The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns.

It’s easy to spot the distinctive, elegant silhouette of The Mather, a Life Plan Community for those 62+ opening this spring in Tysons, Virginia. What is not apparent to the naked eye is The Mather’s unique wellness philosophy, which is literally built into the community. 

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

Nature is one of the important factors that contribute to well-being. So The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns. This can include interior spaces with sightlines to a garden, choosing natural wood and stone as interior materials, or incorporating fragrant flowers and plants indoors to spark memories and provide tactile opportunities such as gardening. 

Residents of The Mather will be able to select from plentiful amenities, programs, and other offerings to target their personal wellness goals and preferences.

“Providing biophilic design within interior settings connects residents to the natural world,” says Mary Leary, CEO and President of Mather, the organization behind The Mather. “Research shows that a connection to nature provides positive benefits to mental states and overall well-being. At The Mather, biophilic design is the intersection of buildings and programs with nature in an urban setting.”

“The Mather is attracting a diverse group of older adults,” says Mary. “As a result, we aim to incorporate wellness practices from around the world, including Wyda movement theory of the Celtic Druids, which helps people achieve harmony with nature and contentment through mindfulness.” This holistic regenerative approach is similar to Qi Gong and yoga, while born in a different part of the world. Mather Institute has a special focus on mindfulness to support older adults’ practice of present moment awareness, which can lead to increased overall well-being, compassion, and joy.

A very different example of a wellness offering at The Mather is the Gharieni Welnamis spa wave bed, which uses computer-controlled vibrational therapy and audio frequencies to train the brain to relax. “The bed increases mindfulness, concentration, and creativity—all of which support our mission of creating Ways to Age Well,SM” says Mary.

These and other personalized ways to wellness will ensure that residents of The Mather can choose from seemingly countless ways to focus on their well-being. In other words, the sky’s the limit!

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