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Wednesday, February 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (#NBHAAD) 2024. This year’s theme is, “Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities.” Search the hashtag online to fine countless awareness campaigns, educational events and other happenings. Several examples are included throughout this article.

July 21 has been chosen as Zero HIV Stigma Day, a national observance that globally raises awareness about HIV stigma. Living with HIV can be challenging on its own, but the added burden of societal discrimination and stigma can make life even more difficult for those affected. The aim of Zero HIV Stigma Day is to empower individuals living with HIV, their loved ones, and the wider community to engage in open, honest conversations, challenge misconceptions, and create an inclusive society free from stigma.

Rock Hudson died of AIDS on October 2, 1985, and my fate came 10 days later on October 12, 1985. My life changed forever that day—a gorgeous fall day with a brilliant blue sky. As I drove to the health department to get my results, I remember thinking, Oh, my test will come back negative, and I’ll be fine. After all, this is North Carolina and AIDS is only hitting big cities like New York and San Francisco.” As I pulled into the parking lot, I became nauseous, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I sat in the car for what...

Gay and bi men in some counties in Florida may be at greater risk of a resurgence in mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). It appears that only a minority of gay men in the state received both doses of the mpox vaccine. Since the mpox outbreak of last summer, 30,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with the infection, with the majority of infections among gay and bi men. There have been around 40 deaths. Just over half of those were in people with advanced HIV and compromised immune systems. In recent weeks, there have been concerns of a...

Search... Remember monkeypox? Given how quickly the panic involving the transmissible disease came and went, you may not, but back in 2022, the panic got so bad that California declared a state of emergency. Further, the White House decided to appoint a monkeypox czar. He’s a controversial figure, to say the least. Demetre Daskalakis is his name, and he has a checkered history, having served as Deputy Commissioner of New York’s Division of Disease Control. Apparently, he did so a great job formulating one of the worst COVID responses in the country that he earned a job in the White...

Recent footage shows the White House’s National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, strutting onto stage at the annual Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit last month wearing bondage straps around his waist and shoulders. Dr. Daskalakis – the disturbing habits of whom The National Pulse first reported on last year – can be seen walking in front of two half-naked men. The Vegas HIV summit was sponsored by Gilead, Janssen, Mistr, QCare, and ViiV Healthcare. VIDEO AT LINK.............. An Appreciation of Satan. First reported last year after his White House appointment under Biden, Dr. Daskalakis is famous for his obsession...

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday proposed loosening restrictions based on gender and sexual orientation for blood donors in the United States. Under the proposal, current time-based deferrals for men who have sex with men and women who have sex with them would be eliminated and replaced with a "gender-inclusive, individual risk-based" screening to cut the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV, the FDA said. All prospective donors would answer a revised questionnaire about new or multiple sex partners in the past three months and a prospective donor who does not report new or multiple sex partners...

As we witnessed with the COVID-19 pandemic, the onset of the AIDS epidemic caused widespread panic. It was especially tragic in the early days when, like with the coronavirus, there were unanswered questions about the virus’s origin and the manner in which it could spread. Initial reports found nearly all who contracted AIDS were homosexual men, intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs, and Haitians. About 700,000 Americans have died from AIDS since the disease was first reported four decades ago. In the early 1980s, there were sporadic reports about a serious flu-like illness affecting otherwise healthy, young gay men. There were also...

Until now men who have sex with men had to wait three months before donating. From Monday, gay men in sexually active, monogamous relationships can donate for the first time. Anyone who has had anal sex with a new or multiple partners in the past three months will have to wait three months to donate - regardless of their gender. It follows a review by the Fair (For the Assessment of Individualised Risk) steering group, which concluded switching to an individualised, gender-neutral approach was fairer and maintained the safety of the blood supply. The review's recommendations are to be implemented...

Health authorities have uncovered an alarming surge in resistance to crucial HIV drugs. Surveys by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that, in the past 4 years, 12 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas have surpassed acceptable levels of drug resistance against two drugs that constitute the backbone of HIV treatment: efavirenz and nevirapine. People living with HIV are routinely treated with a cocktail of drugs, known as antiretroviral therapy, but the virus can mutate into a resistant form.

The threat to publish the names of suspected homosexuals in Tanzania has been defended by the deputy health minister in a fierce row on Twitter. Homosexual acts are illegal in the East African nation and punishable by up to 30 years in jail. Those who advertised homosexual activities online would also be targeted, the politician warned. Tweeters accused him of homophobia and infringing on the right to freedom of expression online.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened the door on Tuesday to a change in its blood donor deferral recommendations, which currently prohibit donations from gay men for a year following their last sexual encounter in order to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In December the FDA overturned a 30-year ban on all blood donations from men who have sex with men, saying the change was based on science showing an indefinite ban was not necessary to prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. The FDA is now signaling it may go further. Gay...

Clive Davis, the music industry legend known for discovering Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys, recently announced (at 80) that he is bisexual, sparking conversations in many circles about the legitimacy of bisexuality among men. Even as we see an increase in the acceptance of people who identify themselves in terms that don’t include “heterosexual” in entertainment and politics, this tolerance isn’t afforded to everyone. There’s still a huge negative stigma about bisexual men, particularly within the African-American community after the “down low” hysteria of the late 1990s. From HIV transmission fears to religious ostracizing to outright social rejection, Black bisexual...

British backpackers holidaying in Australia are returning home with much more than a suntan, as a result of having unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners and helping to spread sexually transmitted diseases around the country. A survey of 1,008 backpackers at hostels in Sydney and the Queensland city Cairns found that British backpackers often had triple the number of sexual partners they would have normally at home, even if they were not single on arrival.

Gay couple living American dream They fear Prop. 8 threatens their civil rights By Brian Charles The Galluccio family doesn’t look much different than most American families — except two dads head the household. “We sit down for dinner. We even say grace,” said Jon Galluccio, 45. Jon and Michael Galluccio are a gay couple and the parents of three adopted children. A recent Yes on Prop. 8 rally left the Galluccio’s steaming. “Why is my life, liberty and my pursuit of happiness a threat to anyone?” said Michael Galluccio, 46. The No on 8 sign stands in their front...

Former page: We knew about Foley 'for years' By M.E. SPRENGELMEYER AND AMIE PARNES Scripps Howard News Service October 1, 2006 WASHINGTON — Sexually explicit messages from former Rep. Mark Foley to one former congressional page might be just the tip of the iceberg, the leader of an alumni association for former congressional pages told Scripps Howard News Service on Saturday. While Foley resigned this week after published reports of "friendly" e-mails to one 16-year-old male page and the pending broadcast of more sexually explicit instant messages, similar graphic messages from him were received by at least three other teenage...

The Mayor of London has given his backing to reports of a gay revolution in Cuba. Ken Livingstone, who yesterday joined gay charity Stonewall to launch an anti-homophobic bullying campaign in schools, said Cuba should look to fellow Latino’s in Venezuela where the capital Caracas has been declared a “homophobia free zone.” He told PinkNews.co.uk: “The first time I went to Cuba in 1985, lots of people in the gay community said 'you've got to raise this issue.' The Cubans were completely honest about it and said: 'we made terrible mistakes in our early years and we regret it.’” Mr...

BOSTON TOO, HAS SUPER HIV CASEMassachusetts doctors have reported several HIV patients with resistance to some of the most commonly prescribed treatments, rasing further concerns about a new, possibly drug resistant strain of the virus.The patients resistance to drug treatment is similar to a New York City case that has sparked widespread concern amont public health experts, the Boston Herald reported.'There is global concern that there may be an increasing amount of patients that have a resistant virus,' said Dr. Greg Robbins of Massachusetts General Hospital.