David Ernesto Munar's blog

Like the recent blast of snow, a political chill has set in across Washington and complicated the efforts of social justice and HIV advocates to pursue progressive federal policy.

Senate leaders and the White House, reeling from an unexpected special-election defeat in Massachusetts, scaled back their ambitions and embraced a more centrist agenda anchored in pocketbook issues.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address heralded the shifting political stance of Democrats, who remain firmly in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.  Jobs creation, economic revitalization, fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction are squarely at the top of the agenda.  By contrast, healthcare reform, immigration reform, and significant social investments appear downgraded for the time being as priorities.  read more »

In this issue of Base Building, the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance (HIV PJA) examines early 2010 political developments and their likely impact on policy-making aimed at rooting out the social drivers of HIV vulnerability in the U.S.

The Latino Commission on AIDS invites anyone involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS to participate in an English and Spanish language National Conference Call to ensure Latino voices are included in the development of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy led by the Office of National AIDS Policy of the White House.

Friday, November 13, 2009
3:30 P.M. EST | 4:30 P.M. in Puerto Rico

CALL-IN NUMBER: 1-888-387-8686
PARTICIPANT CODE: 1883577#

The Office of National AIDS Policy is inviting community input to shape the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.  The Latino community in the U.S. must be present at these meetings to ensure our voices are heard when federal officials draft the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, designed to reduce new infections, increase the number of people in care, and lower HIV-related health disparities.

Join us for this call to understand how you can get involved.  People in Mississippi, Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico are especially encouraged to join the call to learn more about providing effective testimony at one of the upcoming community meetings:
- Jackson, MS 11/16/09
- Ft. Lauderdale, FL 11/20/09
- New York City, NY 12/4/09
- Caguas, Puerto Rico 12/14/09
 
All other interested parties are invited to participate to learn more about submitting your testimonies online. 
 
Download the Spanish language worksheet on preparing effective community testimony. click here 
 read more »

White House officials have announced the tentative dates for community discussions to gather recommendations and input for the creation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.  The tentative dates and communities where these meeting will occur are listed below:

District of Columbia -- Monday, September 21
Minneapolis, MN -- Friday, October 2
Albuquerque, NM -- Friday, October 9
Houston, TX -- Saturday, October 10
San Francisco, CA -- Friday, October 16
Oakland, CA -- Saturday, October 17
Los Angeles, CA -- Sunday, October 18
Columbia, SC -- Monday, October 26
Puerto Rico -- Friday, November 6
Virgin Islands -- Monday, November 9
Jackson, MS -- Monday, November 16
Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- Friday, November 20
New York, NY -- Friday, December 4 

The HIV Prevention Justice Alliance will continue to update readers about these meetings and any changes as they are announced.

In the closing panel at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) delivered a stirring presentation about the centrality of healthcare reform to achieve better results in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including efforts to reduce new HIV infections. 

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced the appointment of Dr. Helene Gayle, currently Presdient and CEO of CARE, and a former Director of CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, as the incoming Chairperson of the Presdiental Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA).  The announcement marks the first appointment to PACHA under the Obama Administration and more appointments are expected soon. According to Jeff Crowley, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, PACHA will play a role in advising the Administration in the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Advocates for healthcare reform surrounded the stage when Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, took the stage at this afternoon's plenary session.  Amid chanting for better health and preventative care options in the U.S., advocates distributed this flyer:

PEOPLE WITH HIV/AIDS NEED HEALTH CARE REFORM NOW

Be part of the solution.  Call your legislators today and tell them health reform cannot wait.  We need quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Contact Lawmakers Today!
1-800-828-0498
http//tinyurl.com/pass-reform

National healthcare reform will transform the fight against HIV/AIDS in the U.S., making long-term reductions in deaths and fewer infections possible.

http://tinyurl.com/HIV-and-healthreform

Also visit the Treatment Access Expansion Project, which is working with the HIV Health Care Working Group, on advocacy and anaylsis of health reform legislation from the HIV perspective.

For the opening plenary session at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference, I delivered these remarks as part of a panel of HIV-positive speakers.

When I tested positive at age 24, I prayed to make it to my 40th birthday.  In 1994, that seemed like asking a lot. 

But now, three months from that milestone, I set my sights higher: I follow my passions and invite peace, laugher, and wellness into my life.

I believe prevention must be about much more than just those events we avert. 

Prevention must achieve goodness, understanding, connections.  And it must court justice and lasting change. 

With the prospect of national health reform and a National AIDS Strategy, this year could be our pivotal moment. 

Make no mistake: national health reform could quite literally transform the fight against the epidemic.  

With a more rational and equitable system, we could vastly improve the health and longevity of HIV-positive people.  Long-term reductions in deaths and fewer infections would be within our reach.  read more »

With presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee refusing to recant his incredibly stupid and frightening 1992 statements, and no progress reducing new HIV infections in the U.S., it’s easy to become discouraged.

But there are some glimmers of hope in the waning days of 2007. Here’s a short list of campaigns, blogs, and inspiring community-organizing efforts worthy of your involvement and support.
 read more »

No matter the spin, CDC’s not-well-protected secret is all bad news.

As widely reported in the Washington Blade, the Washington Post, and other media outlets, the official estimate for annual HIV infections in the U.S. is being raised in 2008. Ironically, UNAIDS recently lowered its global estimate for people living with HIV/AIDS, from 40 million to 33 million.

Virtually every hallway conversation at the 2007 HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta—attended by 3,000 researchers, HIV prevention practitioners, public health officials, and AIDS advocates—buzzed with gossip and speculation about the unreleased figures and what the hold-up could mean.
 read more »

Thank you, CHAMP, for leading us in mobilzing for justice! I was honored to be asked to speak at the rally and share these remarks:

It is often said in Washington that you cannot solve a problem by just throwing money at it. Well, when it comes to HIV infections in America, we’ve actually NEVER TRIED!

In just two and half days—essentially the span of this conference—the U.S. government will have spent more money in Iraq than the total annual budget for domestic HIV prevention.

Since Sunday afternoon, the Treasury has spent about $576 million in Iraq. By lunchtime tomorrow, the cost to taxpayers will have exceeded $730 million and have surpassed the amount of money Congress and the president gave CDC for HIV prevention services in the U.S. in 2007.

Shamefully, the budget for HIV prevention in our country has not increased in ten years. Our prevention efforts are literally being starved to death.  read more »