Magic Johnson: 20th Anniversary Of HIV Announcement

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By: Nsenga Burton

Today marks the 20th anniversary of an announcement that literally rocked the sports community -- the announcement that legendary basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson was retiring, having contracted the H.I.V. virus. Little was known about the virus at the time, so much so that Johnson had to be reminded that he had HIV., not full-blown AIDS before making the announcement. On November 7, 1991, the world stopped for a moment when learning that the man with the magic touch and infectious smile was now facing what was believed at the time to have been a certain death.

The announcement came just after Johnson had married his longtime girlfriend Earleatha "Cookie" Kelly in September of that same year. After a routine physical examination, the seemingly invincible point guard tested positive for HIV. CONTINUE....

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A Harsh Life In Kibera, Kenya

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by Elisa Morgan, ONEMoms in Kenya

I had to watch each step very carefully. The stench was indescribable. I ducked under clotheslines and around dogs everywhere. Children called out around me, “Hello! How are you?” They reached out and touched me. I smiled and called back, “Hello!” while jumping over muck of who knows what. All around me: rows and rows and rows of rooftops and alleys and chickens and women cooking and men loitering and tables of piled vegetables and dried smelly fish.

Kibera. The largest slum in Africa. Home to around one million people. Poverty like you can’t imagine. Filth you wouldn’t believe. HIV/AIDS and malaria and TB and you name it. Here 1 in 3 babies die before their first year and one in 6 moms. Malaria is rampant. CONTINUE....

Changing Face Of HIV In Black Communities Over 30 Years

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By Dr. Tyeese Gaines Reid

When the first case of AIDS was reported on June 5, 1981, AIDS was described as a disease of white gay men. Among the terms experts considered naming this new disease, GRID -- gay-related immune deficiency -- is commonly recalled. Now, 30 years later, the face of HIV and AIDS very much includes black America -- with men who have sex with men and heterosexual women most affected.

Contrary to early perceptions, black Americans were always significantly affected by the HIV epidemic from the early days. By the end of 1981, almost 20 percent of all reported AIDS cases were among African-Americans who, at the time, only made up 13 percent of the population, according to the CDC.

However, the false perception that the epidemic did not include blacks may have fueled the changing face of HIV. This "white gay man's disease" shifted in 1990, when the number of new HIV diagnoses among black Americans exceeded the number of new diagnoses among whites. This trend continued until the present. CONTINUE....

Ashley Judd: Hip-Hop Has A 'Rape Culture'

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By: Jenée Desmond-Harris

RadarOnline reports that actress Ashley Judd's new memoir, All That Is Bitter and Sweet, includes attacks on Snoop Dogg, Diddy, and rap and hip-hop overall. The commentary, which was made in the context of discussion of her work in AIDS awareness, includes the following quotes: CONTINUE....

CDC Expands AIDS Initiative In Black Community

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By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday it is expanding its Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative to increase prevention efforts in the African-American, Latino, gay and bisexual communities, which are hardest hit by HIV/AIDS.

The initiative, a partnership of major community organizations, was launched last year to intensify HIV prevention in the black community. Black Americans represent about 14 percent of the U.S. population, but are nearly half of people living with HIV/AIDS and almost half of the new infections each year, according to CDC data.

CONTINUE....

WORLD AIDS DAY

New HIV Strain Found in Woman from Cameroon

By: Randolph E. Schmid

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon.

It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas, researchers report in Monday's edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

New HIV Strain Found in Woman from Cameroon....

Commentary: Bush’s Support for African AIDS Relief Could Be the Bright Spot in an Otherwise Dark Legacy

By: Judge Greg Mathis






Congress, after some hesitation from its conservative members, finally passed legislation that would provide $48 billion to treat AIDS and other diseases in Africa and key Third World nations over the next five years.

Passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year, the bill extends and more than triples spending for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The move is seen by many as an important step in not only stopping the spread of the AIDS virus in poor nations, but in also improving this country’s badly damaged international image, tarnished by years of poor foreign policies.

The African Medical and Research Foundation, an international health organization located in Kenya, reports that there will be approximately 18 million AIDS orphans in Africa by 2010. The disease, which is 100 percent preventable, has ravished the continent, killing more than 35 million since the disease was first discovered. Currently, PEPFAR funds treatment for nearly 1.5 million people in Africa and in Third World nations, preventing the spread of new infections and providing care for AIDS orphans.

COMMENTARY....

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.11.08

John Kerry endorses Obama for president.

Senator John Kerry is endorsing Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Kerry made the announcement yesterday, saying the Illinois senator will bring the country together. The endorsement may be seen as a blow to former Senator John Edwards who's running against Obama for the White House. Edwards was Kerry's running mate in the 2004 election when Kerry was the Democratic presidential candidate.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich is calling for a recount of the New Hampshire primary. The Ohio congressman says he's concerned about the integrity of Tuesday's results after reports and allegations have surfaced questioning its credibility. Kucinich won less than 2 percent of the vote. In a letter yesterday, he said he doesn't expect significant changes in his vote total but wants assurance that all of the voters had all of their votes counted.

The Israeli government says it endorses President Bush's call for a speedy peace agreement with Palestine. However, the government cautioned that it doesn't see the final establishment of a Palestinian state this year. Bush visited the region this week in an attempt to move the process ahead. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the country hopes for a historic agreement in 2008 that would outline the framework of a future Palestinian state.

And scientists say they've identified more than 200 proteins in the human body that help the AIDS virus multiply and spread. That discovery gives researchers many more possibilities for developing new drugs to combat the disease. Scientists say HIV, which is the virus that causes AIDS, depends on proteins in the body to fuel its growth.

COOKIE JOHNSON'S 'I STAND WITH MAGIC

In conjunction with World AIDS Day, Cookie Johnson, the wife of Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Abbott brought the "I Stand With Magic" program to Los Angeles to educate the African-American community, specifically women, on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

The program aims to reduce new HIV infections among African Americans by half over five years.

Cookie joins the "I Stand With Magic" program, which has a new emphasis: to urge women to get informed, tested and treated for HIV/AIDS and provide tools for prevention and testing.

Los Angeles is part of a three-city tour of "I Stand With Magic" events around World AIDS Day. HIV testing and celebrity concerts also are being held in Chicago and New York City to highlight the first-year results of the campaign and renewed efforts to reach African-American and other minority women.

African Americans account for approximately half of the nearly 500,000 Americans estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS and have represented nearly 40 percent of all deaths among people with AIDS in the United States.

WORLD AIDS DAY

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.

The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.

From its inception until 2004, UNAIDS spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organizations. In 2005 this responsibility was turned over to World AIDS Campaign (WAC), who chose Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise as the main theme for World AIDS Day observances through 2010, with more specific sub-taglines chosen annually. This theme is not specific to World AIDS Day, but is used year-round in WAC's efforts to highlight HIV/AIDS awareness within the context of other major global events including the G8 Summit. World AIDS Campaign also conducts “in-country” campaigns throughout the world, like the Student Stop AIDS Campaign, an infection-awareness campaign targeting young people throughout the UK.

It is common to hold memorials to honor persons who have died from HIV/AIDS on this day. Government and health officials also observe, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995 the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements.