Yours In The Struggle

ramblings and other thoughts from Paul Kawata (pkawata@nmac.org)

Wednesday, November 30

Letter To The President

Dear Mr. President,

We are very excited and pleased that you will deliver a speech this World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths. This is a goal that we all support.

We are leading domestic AIDS organizations, active in delivering services in our communities and advocating at the local, state and national levels. We believe that the United States must fight AIDS both at home and globally.

Our organizations ask that you let the world know that we now have the capacity to begin to end the AIDS epidemic, with pledges to take action on both the domestic and global epidemics.

  • On the domestic epidemic, pledges to move forward on ending the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. by continuing to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) with a commitment of resources for HIV prevention, housing, care and treatment to meet the NHAS targets, reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act and forcefully defending the Affordable Care Act, including the federal commitment to the Medicaid program, with its potential to greatly enhance prevention and treatment of HIV.
  • On the global epidemic, an accelerated target of treatment delivery to reach six million people with lifesaving AIDS treatment by 2013 through PEPFAR as part of a comprehensive prevention and treatment effort.
  • on all fronts, leadership, concrete commitments and recommendations to eliminate laws and government policies that single out people with HIV for exclusion from employment or services, and that perpetuate stigma or discrimination and undermine prevention efforts by subjecting those who test positive for HIV to criminal prosecution and extreme punishments ranging from extended prison sentences to sex-offender registration for consensual and no-risk contact with others.

We urge you to make a bold announcement about our ability to begin to end this epidemic at home and abroad.

HIV Ends With Us

Sunday, November 27

George Michael

Here is George Michael a week before he got sick. I wish him a speedy recovery!

Tuesday, November 22

POZ - I Made The List!

POZ - December

Tuesday, November 15

2011 USCA ViiV Youth Scholars