• 81% of all treat HIV-positive individuals (US & European Union) receive a Gilead HIV drug;
• 90% of patients who are just starting HIV treatment (US & Europe Union) receive a Gilead drug. 
• Gilead’s revenues topped $8 billion in revenues last year.

Isn’t it time for Gilead to stop holding AIDS care hostage & lower their prices?

 State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) continue to struggle – with more than 3,000 people nationwide still on waiting lists to receive lifesaving care.

Yet now, Gilead has a “new” drug known as the Quad, which is likely to hit the market later this year.  Quad could cost nearly twice as much as the most expensive drug ADAPs buy, and in some cases 3 times or 4 times more than other drugs.  Not only is the Quad NOT a significant improvement over Gilead’s Atripla – the most prescribed brand – it contains the same active ingredient  – Truvada.  Download this fact sheet for more information on QUAD and ADAP.

Join AIDS Healthcare Foundation and other advocates in telling Gilead to stop squeezing every last cent out of Truvada.

Press Conference: Friday, May 25^th 10:30am, L.A. City Hall

Safer sex advocates to submit over 360,000 signatures supporting a County ballot measure drive that would, “…require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health…and pay a permit fee…sufficient for necessary enforcement.”          

Measure is modeled on County’s health permit process for tattoo and massage parlors and bathhouses; AHF and the initiative’s five named proponents are part of FAIR (For Adult Industry Responsibility), a corresponding campaign to shepherd signature gathering and the entire County ballot initiative process

WHAT:      
PRESS CONFERENCE  (10:30am Pacific Time)
Condom advocates to submit 370K signatures in support of a County of Los Angeles ballot initiative to require adult film producers, “…to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“the Department”) and pay a permit fee set by the Department in an amount sufficient for necessary enforcement.”                 

WHERE:      

Los Angeles City Hall, Bradley Tower

200 N. Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHO:              

Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, President

Darren James, Former adult film performer who became HIV-infected while working in the industry

Derrick Burts, Former adult film performer who became HIV-infected while working in the industry

Whitney Engeran-Cordova, Director, Public Health Division, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Arlette De La Cruz, International Legal Assistant, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Paula Tavrow PhD., Director Bixby Program on Population and Reproductive Health, UCLA

Adam Carl Cohen, MPH, Reproductive Health Interest Group, UCLA

Harmony Larson, President Reproductive Health Interest Group, UCLA

CONTACTS:    Ged Kenslea, AHF Dir. of Communications (323) 791-5526 cell   (323) 860-5225 office

B-ROLL:   A truck outside on N. Main Street between City Hall and City Hall East with 35+ boxes of petitions with signatures of 360K Los Angeles County Residents.

LOS ANGELES (May 24, 2012) – As part of its ongoing campaign to require the use of condoms in porn films shot and produced in California in an effort to reduce the spread of STDs including HIV, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and members of FAIR (‘For Adult Industry Responsibility’), a group that has been shepherding signature gathering and support for a Los Angeles County ballot initiative process, will host a press conference tomorrow, Friday, May 25^th at 10:30 AM Pacific in the Bradley Tower of Los Angeles City Hall (200 N. Spring Street, 23^rd floor)—to announce the collection and filing of over 360,000 signatures of Los Angeles County residents in support of a County of Los Angeles ballot initiative that allows Los Angeles voters to directly weigh in on a measure that would, “…require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“the Department”) and pay a permit fee set by the Department in an amount sufficient for necessary enforcement.”

Members of AHF and FAIR launched the County ballot measure drive in early January of this year on the heels of successfully qualifying a similar City of Los Angeles ballot initiative tying distribution of adult film permits to condom use. The groups have until June 5^th to gather the signatures needed for the County measure. 232,153 valid signatures of Los Angeles County residents are required to qualify the measure and make the Nov 2012 ballot (a number based on a percentage of total votes cast in the last County-wide election); 255,368 to qualify by the random sample (30 day check). In a precautionary measure, AHF and FAIR have collected and will submit well over that number as a cushion: approximately 360,000 signatures total.  After validation of the signatures by County officials, the measure will go before Los Angeles County voters on the November 2012 ballot—the presidential election ballot.

“In January, advocates from AHF and FAIR launched the petition drive for this measure which will require all adult film producers operating in Los Angeles County to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Today—just under five months later—we are very pleased to announce that over 360,000 Los Angeles County voters have spoken up loudly and clearly on this: we collected and will submit that number of signatures in support of this measure,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation and one of the five named proponents of the ballot initiative. “This ordinance is modeled after the County’s similar health permitting process for tattoo and massage parlors and bathhouses. We are grateful that officials from the City of Los Angeles already acted earlier this year to adopt a similar citywide measure, and now we look forward to taking this measure directly to voters throughout the County of Los Angeles in November.”

This ordinance will be known as the ‘County of Los Angeles Safer Sex In The Adult Film Industry Act.’ Advocates need to collect over 200,000 signatures of voters by June 5, 2012, and if successful, would place the measure on the November 2012 election—the same ballot as the presidential election

On  December 8, 2012 Michael Ruiz, a Staff Assistant with the Election Planning and Coordination Section of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office provided the following preliminary ‘Official Title and Summary’ for the proposed ballot measure as set forth below:

County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act

• The measure would enact an ordinance to add Chapter 11.39, entitled ‘Adult Films,” to Title 11, Health and Safety, of the Los Angeles County Code.
• The purpose of the measure is intended to minimize the spread of sexually transmitted infections by regulating the adult film industry.
• The measure would require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“the Department”) and pay a permit fee set by the Department in an amount sufficient for necessary enforcement.
• The measure would provide for a permitting process that requires application submission and proof of completion of a blood borne pathogen training course, after which a permit shall be issued. The measure also requires submission of an exposure control plan.
• The measure would require use of condoms for all acts of anal or vaginal sex during the production of adult films, as well as the posting of the public health permit and notice to performers regarding condom use.
• The measure would authorize the Department to enforce the provisions of the ordinance, including suspending or revoking the public health permit for violating the ordinance, or any other law, following notice and an opportunity for an administrative review. Prior notice would not be required if any immediate danger to the public and safety is found or reasonably suspected. Violation of the ordinance would be subject to civil fines and/or criminal misdemeanor charges.
• The measure would provide that in the event another ballot measure relating to the permits for the adult film industry appears on the same ballot, that this measure shall prevail if it receives the greater number of affirmative votes, and the competing measure shall be null and void.
• The measure authorizes the Board of Supervisors to amend the chapter by ordinance, passed by a majority vote, in order to further its purposes. The chapter may only be repealed by ordinance adopted by a vote of the electors or by an amendment of the Los Angeles County Charter        superseding the ordinance.
• The measure provides that if any part of the ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional, then remaining provisions shall be severable and remain in full force and effect.

# # #

Background on AHF’s Adult Film Worker Safety Efforts and STD Infections in the Industry

AHF’s move to spearhead this ballot initiative was prompted by two outbreaks of HIV in the industry and an ongoing epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in California’s adult film industry. As part of its ongoing campaign to require the use of condoms in adult films, AHF has undertaken high profile advocacy efforts directly targeting the industry, including key players like Hustler’s founder Larry Flynt and Vivid Entertainment’s Steve Hirsch; it has also publicly pressed Los Angeles County political and health officials to comply with the law as far as legal reporting of HIV and STD cases—including those found among performers in the industry—and to require the use of condoms on film sets in Los Angeles.

In addition, multiple organizations committed to protecting the public health have called for mandatory use of condoms in the production of adult films, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the California Conference of Local AIDS Directors, the California STD Controllers Association, the National Coalition of STD Directors, the National Association of City and County Health Officials, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the California Medical Association.

STDs in the Adult Film Industry in Los Angeles County

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH), workers in the adult film industry are ten times more likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease than members of the population at large.  LADPH documented 2,013 individual cases of chlamydia and 965 cases of gonorrhea among workers between the years 2003 and 2007. In the period April 2004 to March 2008 there have been 2,847 STD infections diagnosed among 1,884 performers in the adult industry in LA County. LADPH has also observed that many workers suffer multiple infections, with some performers having four or more separate infections over the course of a year.  In addition, LADPH has stated that as many as 25 industry-related cases of HIV have been reported since 2004. County health officials attribute the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in the porn industry to a lack of protective equipment for partners, including condoms.  The agency recommends condoms be used during production, but has never taken steps to ensure their use, or to protect the performers who are essentially required to endanger their health in order to remain employed.

“This is not just about one industry, but about our entire community, as the spread of disease among adult film performers endangers themselves as well as their sexual partners in and outside the industry,” added AHF’s Weinstein. “This is why we are bringing the question directly to voters here in Los Angeles.”

LOS ANGELES (May 23, 2012) – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the primary backers of a new City of Los Angeles ordinance that conditions the issuance of adult film permits by the City to condom use in adult films shot under the auspices of the permits, is announcing that it will NOT pursue a contract or request for proposal from the City as a potential vendor or service provider to monitor adult film production sets throughout Los Angeles to check for compliance with the new City of Los Angeles ordinance. The ordinance, known as the ‘City of Los Angeles Safer Sex In The Adult Film Industry Act,’ was first proposed by AHF and members of the group, ‘For Adult Industry Responsibility’ (FAIR) as a citywide voter ballot initiative that was to have be placed on the June election ballot; however, in an historic action, it was adopted directly into law in January of this year by the Los Angles City Council. Since then and throughout the entire signature gathering process last autumn, some opponents of the measure and members of the adult film industry have alleged that AHF would be seeking to secure a City contract for inspecting film sets for compliance.

“It’s becoming clearer that the City of Los Angeles does not want—and/or many not actually have the capacity to enforce this new adult film safety ordinance that requires inspection of adult film sets for compliance with condom use in the productions,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There are many objective, neutral compliance groups out there such as nursing agencies that can likely do this monitoring under contract to the city. And since this inspection and compliance effort will not cost the city anything—money for the inspections comes directly from the industry itself in the form of film permit fees—city officials should forge ahead and arrange for a qualified outside contractor to handle these compliance inspections. Currently, AHF does not have the capability or expertise in this arena, and as such, we will not bid on any contracts or requests for proposals to monitor adult film sets for compliance with the film permit ordinance.”

In December 2011, adult film safety advocates submitted over 70,000 City of Los Angeles voter signatures—far more than the 41,000 needed to qualify the measure for election. In early January 2012, the Los Angeles City Clerk certified the signatures and recommended that City Council either, “…adopt the proposed ordinance, without alteration,” outright or “submit it” for the “regularly-scheduled State Primary Election” set for June 5, 2012, which will be conducted by the County of Los Angeles.

Thousands participated in the Walks to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS treatment, testing, outreach and support services on both coasts

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL & LOS ANGELES, CA (May 21, 2012) – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, proudly presented coast-to-coast AIDS walks in Florida and California this past Sunday, May 20^th. The Florida AIDS Walk in Ft. Lauderdale premiered a new route that begins and ends at a location along the Fort Lauderdale beach. The California Music Festival & AIDS Walk in Los Angeles once again took place in Griffith Park and the Greek Theatre and included a full afternoon of family-fun and free carnival games and rides, great performers on the world famous stage and a bevy of food trucks to satisfy every taste.

AHF Pharmacy—along with KRTH, K-EARTH 101 radio—sponsored this year’s Walk and concert dubbed “70s Boogie Night,” headlined by KC & The Sunshine Band and featuring Heatwave, Thelma Houston, Maxine Nightingale and Cheryl Lynn, plus a very special tribute to Don Cornelius, Soul Train, Dick Clark and Donna Summer. The concert was hosted by basketball legend, entrepreneur and HIV/AIDS advocate Magic Johnson and his wife, Cookie Johnson, led the Walk at 4:30 pm. The festival—and Walk check-in—began at 2:00 PM (free food trucks, music stage, rides) with the 3K Walk at 4:30 PM, followed by the concert at the Greek Theatre at 6:00 PM.

Presented by AHF Pharmacy and Out of the Closet Thrift Store, Florida AIDS Walk 2012 is dedicated to raising awareness of the fact that more that 100,000 Floridians are living with HIV/AIDS, and to generating as much financial support as possible to provide the lifesaving care and services that they need. At this year’s Walk, 3400 walkers raised $826,000 for HIV testing, prevention and medical care services in Florida. This year’s Walk benefited an expanded list of organizations as the team strives to have an even greater impact on the community. Also new this year: Florida AIDS Walk 2012 included a food and music festival on the beach. Walkers were welcomes by Elvis Duran of Y100’s Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and were treated to a beachfront concert featuring musical guests: The B-52s, Berlin, CeCe Peniston and Ultra Nate. Additional acts include: Joi Cardwell, Jason Walker, Tony Cruz, DJ Michael Tank, DJ Doug Jackson and more.

More information can be found on the website at www.floridaAIDSWalk.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/floridaAIDSWalk and Twitter @FloridaAIDSWalk.

“Florida AIDS Walk has grown in size and success year over year,” said Mark Martin, AHF’s Regional Director, Community Relations & Development and the lead organizer of the Florida AIDS Walk. “In years past, participants have asked for a different, shorter route, and for something entertaining to do after the Walk to celebrate their hard work – and we’ve listened! This year’s Walk took place along the Fort Lauderdale beach, and culminated in a food and music festival that the whole community will enjoy. This new event is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our participants for their dedication and generosity in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as an opportunity to raise the bar for a whole new era of Florida AIDS Walk fundraising.”

The California Music Festival & AIDS Walk included a day of free carnival games and rides, great performers in the park and plenty of food trucks to kick the party off in style in landmark Griffith Park. The Walk is dedicated to raising awareness that more than 200,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in California and to raise funds for local AIDS service organizations including: AIDS Service Center, Bienestar, Charles Drew Mobile Testing, In The Meantime, Magic Johnson Foundation and Whittier Rio Hondo AIDS Project. More information can be found on the website: www.walkeatdance.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/californiaAIDSWalk and on Twitter at @caAIDSwalk.

“2012 is AHF’s 25th anniversary, the Greek Theatre’s 80th and our media sponsor K-EARTH 101 radio’s 40th, so together we pulled out all the stops to guarantee a mega-superstar concert that folllowed the festival and Walk.  Plus, the legendary Magic Johnson served as host,” Dana Miller, AHF’s Executive Producer, Events and the lead organizer of the California Music Festival & AIDS Walk. “We promised to reward participants’ commitment with a full afternoon of fun and entertainment, and we did just that—all for a great cause: to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and funds for local beneficiaries who provide lifesaving services to the community all year long.”

According to the Florida Department of Health’s most recent HIV/AIDS fact sheet, through 2010 the total number of people living with HIV and AIDS in Florida increase 5.3% for a total of 97,978. According to the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS’ most recent fact sheet (including data through June 30, 2011), there are 160,760 people living with AIDS and 43,501 people living with HIV in California. The number in both states is likely higher as it is estimate that nationwide 20% of people who are HIV-positive are unaware they are infected.

• 81% of all treat HIV-positive individuals (US & European Union) receive a Gilead HIV drug;
• 90% of patients who are just starting HIV treatment (US & Europe Union) receive a Gilead drug. 
• Gilead’s revenues topped $8 billion in revenues last year.

Isn’t it time for Gilead to stop holding AIDS care hostage & lower their prices?

State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) continue to struggle – with more than 3,000 people nationwide still on waiting lists to receive lifesaving care.

Yet now, Gilead has a “new” drug known as the Quad, which is likely to hit the market later this year  – with a price that could be 2 or 3 times higher than any other drug purchased by state ADAPs.  Not only is the Quad NOT a significant improvement over Gilead’s Atripla—the most prescribed brand— it contains the same active ingredient  – Truvada.  Download this fact sheet for more information on QUAD and ADAP.

Join AIDS Healthcare Foundation and other advocates in telling Gilead to stop squeezing every last cent out of Truvada.

WASHINGTON (May 21, 2012)—AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which provides AIDS care and treatment services to more than 170,000 individuals in 26 countries worldwide, lauded the U.S. House of Representatives for budgeting $193 million more to global AIDS programs in the 2013 Foreign Operations & Appropriations Bill than President Obama proposed. Despite a 5%, or $2 billion reduction in overall foreign operations spending from the Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Bill, the House budget would maintain current levels of funding. This is in stark contrast to the Administration’s unprecedented request for a reduction in global AIDS funding.

“AHF would like to thank Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) for her continuing leadership on this issue, and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) for showing that a strong response to the global AIDS epidemic has strong bipartisan support.  In this House bill, funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief remains at its 2012 level, while under President Obama’s proposed budget, funding and total expenditures for PEPFAR would be reduced, meaning fewer people on treatment and fewer lives saved,” said Tom Myers, AHF’s Chief of Public Affairs, noting that Rep. Granger is the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, and Rep. Lowey is the ranking Member of the Subcommittee. “The Subcommittee understands that we cannot achieve the goal of an ‘AIDS free generation’ by cutting global AIDS funding. We are grateful to those legislators working to maintain a priority on AIDS care and treatment programs like PEPFAR, particularly after numerous studies have shown that treatment is the key to controlling the epidemic. And for Congress to do so at a time when the overall Foreign Appropriations budget was cut by over two billion dollars demonstrates an even more impressive commitment to fighting AIDS.”

Foreign Operations & Appropriations Funding—FY 2012 vs. FY 2013                                           

Following is a snapshot of year-over-year funding levels proposed by Congress and the Administration:

1. Total FY2012 enacted, for both bilateral PEPFAR and Global Fund, $5.543 billion; with PEPFAR accounting for $4.243 billion, and Global Fund at $1.3 billion;

2. President Obama’s proposed FY 2013 funding for both programs is $5.35 billion; $3.7 billion for bilateral PEPFAR funding and $1.650 billion for the Global Fund;
3. The House FY2013 appropriation is $5.543 billion, in the same proportion as FY2012 enacted. The House bill provides:
1. $4,242,860,000 for the bilateral programs, PEPFAR
2. $1,300,000,000 for the Global Fund
3. $5,542,860,000 TOTAL, which is the same as the FY2012 level and $192,860,000 above the President’s budget request.

PEPFAR was the result of President Bush’s groundbreaking 2003 State of the Union pledge to bring two million HIV positive Africans and others into treatment and prevent seven million new HIV infections via a five-year, $15 billion US-funded program. It currently operates in 15 focus countries and claims to support antiretroviral treatment for 1.4 million people worldwide. PEPFAR has been one of the most successful global humanitarian programs in recent memory, providing medical care to millions of people with HIV/AIDS, it has given hope to the 33 million people with HIV/AIDS in the world.

 ‘Condom Nation’ will offer free condoms and, with local partners, free HIV testing May 18^th through May 20^th at various locations—including at the DUB Car Show & Concert Tour at the Dallas Convention Center

What:   MEDIA AVAILABILITY—Free condom giveaway. AHF’s ‘Condom Nation’ 18-wheel semi truck continues six-month, 40-city, 25-state free condom tour; advocates to hand out free condoms and offer free HIV testing

When & Where: 

Friday, May 18^th          5:00 pm           Levines Department Store, 4721 East Lancaster, Fort Worth, Texas – PRESS CONFERENCE w/ Ft. Worth Mayor Betsy Price

Friday, May 18^th          5:00 pm – 8:00 pm    Levines Department Store, 4721 East Lancaster, Fort Worth, Texas – Free condom giveaway, plus free HIV testing. Partner agency: AIDS Outreach Center

Saturday, May 19^th      11:00 am – 3:00 pm Levines Department Store, 183 Pleasant Grove, Dallas, Texas – Free condom giveaway, plus free HIV testing. Partner agency: AIDS Arms, Inc.                      

Sunday, May 20^th        12:00 pm – 6:00 pm    8^th Annual Monster Energy – Dub Car Show & Concert Tour 2012, Dallas Convention Center, 650 South Griffin Street, Dallas, Texas – Free condom giveaway, plus free HIV testing.  Partner agency: AIDS Arms, Inc.

Who: 

James Vellequette, Associate Director, AHF’s ‘Condom Nation Tour’

Ed Jones, (Dallas) AIDS Arms Inc.; John Reed, (Ft. Worth) AIDS Outreach Center

B-Roll:  

70-foot, 18-wheel ‘Condom Nation’ big-rig with condoms and safer sex education materials

Contacts:  

ON THE ROAD— James Vellequette, Associate Director, ‘Condom Nation’ Tour, (323) 573-3005 cell Ed Jones, (Dallas) AIDS Arms Inc., (214) 859-0061 cell

LOS ANGELES— Lori Yeghiayan Friedman, AHF Communications, (323) 377-4312 cell

DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TEXAS (May 18, 2012) AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) ‘Condom-Nation’ tour—AHF’s specially-designed 70-foot long, 18 wheel ‘Condom Nation’ big rig truck and a companion ‘Condom Nation’ Sprinter van rides into to the Dallas & Ft Worth areas today, Friday, May 18th for events today, Saturday and Sunday—all stops on the ‘Condom Nation Tour’–a groundbreaking 25-state, 40-city, six-month nationwide tour to select cities, towns and states to hand out ten million free condoms and provide safer sex information in conjunction with local partners.  ‘Condom Nation’ was launched from the famed Boardwalk in Venice Beach, California as part of AHF’s worldwide observation of International Condom Day—an informal holiday observed annually on February 13^th in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.  The group aims to conduct one thousand free HIV tests over the three days.

In Ft. Worth, AHF’s Condom Nation will partner with AIDS Outreach Center in a condom giveaway and free HIV testing event on Friday, May 18th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Levines Department Store (4721 East Lancaster, Fort Worth, Texas).  To kick off the event, Condom Nation will participate in a press conference with Ft. Worth Mayor Betsy Price at the same location at 5:00 pm.

In Dallas, AHF’s Condom Nation will partner with AIDS Arms Inc. to offer free condoms and HIV testing at two events.  The first will be on Saturday, May 19^th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at Levines Department Store (183 Pleasant Grove, Dallas, Texas) and the second will be on Sunday, May 20^th from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm during the 8^th Annual Monster Energy – Dub Car Show Tour 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center.  Individuals who test with Condom Nation will be entered into a raffle to win all access backstage passes to Sunday’s show—featuring some of the most popular hip-hop artists of today.  Please click here for more information.

May 20^th is also the day that AHF is presenting coast-to-coast AIDS Walks—the Florida AIDS Walk in Ft. Lauderdale and the California Music Festival and AIDS Walk in Los Angeles—making the Dallas event part of a nationwide day of advocacy and action on HIV/AIDS, driven by AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

The ‘Condom Nation’ big rig (and the similarly-wrapped, smaller ‘Condom Nation’ sprinter van) will conclude the U.S. tour in late July in Washington, DC, arriving just before the opening of the XIX International AIDS Conference in that city.

“Condom Nation is a serious, yet somewhat whimsical and creative effort by AIDS Healthcare Foundation to help promote increased condom use and to help make condoms more accessible and affordable,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Condoms are an essential part of preventing HIV and STDs. Not only are they extremely effective at preventing transmission, they are cheaper and easier to use than many other prevention tools. Our hope is that Condom Nation raises awareness and sparks conversations along the way—both on the coasts and in the heartland—about the importance of condoms and the crucial role they play in disease prevention and safer sex.”

Currently, there are approximately 48,000 new HIV infections and 19 million new STD infections every year in the United States.

Unfortunately, few people have reliable and affordable access to condoms. Recent studies show that when condoms are available and reasonably priced or at no cost, more people use them as a protective measure against STDs, HIV and unwanted pregnancies. In addition, the average $1 retail price per condom is offset by a production cost of only $.04, leaving $.96 for profit. Retail priced condoms are simply too expensive for many people to afford and locations providing free condoms are often geographically distant from those who need them.

“In order to better protect the public health, we need universal access to condoms and they need to be available at an extremely low cost,” said James Vellequette, Associate Director for AHF’s ‘Condom Nation.’  “This tour is a national call to action to achieve these goals and we are delighted to be working with our partners in Texas this weekend.”

 ‘Condom Nation’ will:

• Partner with 40+ local advocates in 25 states to distribute ten million free condoms
• Educate and raise awareness about safe sex practices
• Promote the use of condoms through education and advertising
• Spearhead a national advocacy campaign to lower the price of condoms

Condom Nation Cities

Some of the cities the Condom Nation Tour will visit include Venice, CA (2/13/12 tour launch); Oakland, CA (Feb 17); Las Vegas, NV (Feb 21-25, condom & testing events various nights with local partners: South Nevada Health District Office of AIDS, The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada and The Sin City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence); Phoenix, AZ (Mar 1-2 with the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS); Albuquerque, NM (Mar 7^th with New Mexico AIDS Services); Oklahoma City (Mar 9-11 with Guiding Light, Inc.) Ft. Worth, TX (Mar 13-14) Dallas, TX (Mar 15-16); San Antonio, TX (Mar 17-22) Houston, TX (Mar 22-24); Lafayette, LA (Mar 27 with Aspirations, Inc.) Baton Rouge, LA (Mar 28-31 with Aspirations, Inc.); Jackson, MS (April 13-14); Atlanta, GA (April 18-22, condom and testing with groups Citywide and ACT NOW!); Norfolk, VA, (April 23-28); Columbia, SC (May 4-5); Little Rock, AK (May 12); Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas (May 18-20); Kansas City, MO (May 23); Kansas City, KS (May 24); Chicago, IL (May 26-27); Detroit, MI (May 29); Toledo, OH (May 30); Asbury Park, NJ (June 1-3); Brooklyn NY (May 9); New York City, NY (June 17); Boston, MA, Providence, RI, Pittsburgh, PA, Columbus, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Charlotte, NC, Fayetteville, NC and other locations still to be worked out with the Condom Nation Tour culminating in Washington, DC on July 22, 2012—where AHF is also spearheading the ‘Keep the Promise’ on HIV/AIDS Treatment March on Washington on July 22^nd.

According to a December 2011 HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the CDC reports that there are approximately 1.1 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS in the United States; an estimated 20% of these individuals do not even know they are infected. In addition, a new news posting published on February 15, 2012 on the website www.aidsmap.com reports that as many of half of all, “…new HIV transmissions in the US originate in individuals who are unaware that they are HIV-positive, a modelling study published in the online edition of AIDS estimates. Only 20% of HIV infections in the US are undiagnosed, but the investigators calculated that they were the source of 49% of all new onward transmissions

To learn more about Condom Nation and find resources to help your community, please visit www.condom-nation.org

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the self-described “largest community-based HIV medical provider in the nation,” will open an Atlanta branch later this month with support from basketball legend and HIV/AIDS activist Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Johnson and AHF announced on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, plans to open new clinics in Atlanta; Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Fort Worth, Tex. Dubbed the Atlanta “Magic Johnson” Healthcare Clinic, the facility is scheduled for a soft opening on May 16 at 5700 Hillendale Dr. in Lithonia.

The clinic will feature a resident doctor who specializes in HIV/AIDS, a pharmacy and additional services like testing and counseling, according to the AHF.

“At the clinic, we’re going to offer HIV primary care, laboratory care, hopefully STD screenings and treatments and an on-site pharmacy that will offer free delivery to anyone in the area,” said Dawn Averill, associate director of growth and development for AHF.

Averill called the clinic a “one-stop shop.”

Atlanta has multiple agencies whose mission is combat HIV/AIDS, and Averill said that AHF’s new clinic would not dilute local treatment options but expand them.

“You can never have enough care, enough options,” Averill said.

Averill said the clinic’s location in Lithonia, which is east of Atlanta in Dekalb County, was chosen because it would allow AHF to expand HIV/AIDS services into an area where people who need care can find it.

“The percentage of people that are out of care is high,” Averill said. “We when did our research on Georgia, it was a very large number of individuals who had been documented but were not in care.”

The AHF will also bring a mobile testing unit when it opens its clinic that will service local communities.

“For a lot of people, it’s a transportation issue,” Averill said. “We try to break through their barriers to see what we can do. If those are your issues, we can fix that.

“We want to get out there, we want to find new people who are HIV positive and help them through the process,” Averill added.
Ga. among worst new HIV cases

Despite progress in treatment and early detection, Georgia still ranks among the worst states for new HIV cases.

Georgia was among the top states to report new HIV infections in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Some 1,300 people are diagnosed each year in the Peach State, CDC numbers show.

Many of those diagnosed with the disease seek initial treatment, but fall through the cracks when it comes to continued care, Averill said.

“We want people to come in, get tested, we want to teach them how to be healthy, be sexually smart,” Averill added.

The new clinic will be a partnership with the Magic Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by the former NBA legend.

Johnson shocked the world in 1991 when he announced he was HIV positive. Since his announcement, he has become a fierce advocate of the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

“Magic Johnson is a hero and icon in the fight against AIDS, and we applaud him for the courage and leadership he has shown in this ongoing battle,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein at the World AIDS Day announcement.

Founded in 1987, AHF provides services to more than 130,000 people affected by HIV and AIDS in 22 countries annually. The foundation also has clinics in California, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

As the US Food and Drug Administration moves closer to approving a drug that would reduce the likelihood of contracting HIV, critics and some health campaigners have raised fears that the pre-emptive treatment might actually lead to higher infection rates.

On Thursday an influential advisory panel recommended that the FDA approve Truvada, a drug made by Gilead Sciencesthat is currently used as part of combination therapy to help slow the progression of HIV. The vote, which came after hours of debate among medical experts, is not binding but the agency usually follows its recommendations.

Many opponents of the drug are concerned that it will become a “party drug” that would encourage people who are at risk of contracting HIV to act recklessly. Others worry about dangerous side-effects associated with healthy people taking Truvada and that the virus could mutate, reducing the effectiveness of the treatment.

“I fear that men will take the drug inconsistently, have a false sense of security and increase risky behaviour,” said Joey Terrill, who works in public affairs at the Aids Healthcare Foundation.

Gilead filed last year with the FDAfor a new authorised “indication” for “pre-exposure prophylaxis” use of Truvada, which is a core part of HIV treatment around the world. Sales of the drug generate about $3bn a year.

Clinical trials showed that Truvada reduced the risk of contracting HIV in men who have sex with men by 44 per cent, and by 73 per cent among heterosexual couples where one partner was already infected.

Elizabeth Nash, an Aids campaigner, told the FDA panel she thought that 44 per cent was low for an intervention that was intended to be preventive. “It’s hard to think of other preventive measures such as birth control or vaccines where 44 per cent relative efficacy is deemed effective,” she said.

Critics also argue the use of Truvada could lead to drug resistance undermining its value for patients as a result of intermittent use of the medicine, that the studies have not determined the long-term effects of taking the drug and that reliance on Truvada could reduce condom use.

In the developing world, there are fears that patients could be forced to sell or share their medicines with those uninfected but at risk, creating tensions and leaving them without effective treatment.

Gilead has said it is willing to fund substantial HIV prevention programmes to support the use of its medicine to limit new infections around the world.

The company will underwrite testing, condom distribution and lower-cost supplies of the medicine if US regulators extend the use of Truvada.

Howard Jaffe, chairman of the Gilead Foundation, the company’s charitable arm, said the company sought to reach marginalised groups of people at risk of HIV, many of whom are uninsured and unable to access free healthcare in the US or other countries.

The action would mark a highly unusual extension for a pharmaceutical company into supporting public health infrastructure related to a disease, as well as a funding of approaches that potentially reduce the price and total demand for its drug.

“Cost is not going to be an issue,” he said. “We would be very happy to spend a lot of money on testing if it meant there was less HIV. We’re coming at this as citizens of the world, not necessarily as an 800lb gorilla looking to increase our revenues on the backs of people who are HIV positive.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1.2m people in the US are living with HIV and that there are about 50,000 new cases a year. Gilead projects that the target group of healthy people that would be eligible to take Truvada, which would cost about $14,000 a year, is in the tens of thousands.

By Denise Grady
May 10, 2012

SILVER SPRING, Md. — An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration is expected to vote Thursday on whether a drug already used to treat H.I.V. infection should also be approved to prevent it. Such a recommendation, if made, would mark the first time that government advisers have advocated giving antiviral medicine to healthy people who might be exposed through sexual activity to the virus that causes AIDS.

Studies have shown that people who take the medicine, Truvada, every day have a greatly reduced risk of infection.

The F.D.A. usually accepts the advice of its advisory panels, which are made up of outside experts, mostly from medical schools.

On Thursday morning, the panel evaluated studies of the once-a-day pill and heard scientific presentations about whether Truvada should be prescribed for people at high risk of infection, like gay men who have multiple sex partners, especially those who do not always use condoms, and people in relationships with someone who is H.I.V.-positive. Young black men who have sex with other men are at highest risk.

The drug is meant not to replace condoms and other safe-sex measures, but to be used with them for added protection.

Experts say better methods of prevention are needed because there are 50,000 new H.I.V. infections a year in the United States. Several speakers emphasized on Thursday that that number had not budged in 15 to 20 years. Counseling and condoms are not doing the job, they said, and many of the newly infected are men whose sexual partners do not realize they are H.I.V.-positive.

Worldwide, there were 2.4 million to 2.9 million new cases in 2010.

After the scientific presentations on Thursday morning, many panelists voiced concern about the possibility that people who become infected while taking Truvada could develop dangerous drug-resistant strains of the virus. And they asked why resistance occurs in people taking the medicine, given that it is such a powerful drug.

Dr. John W. Mellors, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said that one likely reason is that if people take the pills inconsistently, they may wind up with levels of the drug that are too low to prevent infection, but just high enough to allow resistance to occur.

An F.D.A. analysis found that people who are older and more educated are more likely to take the drug faithfully. So are men who reported having receptive anal sex without condoms. There is no data to tell whether Truvada would prevent H.I.V. infection spread by needle sharing.

Nausea and abdominal pain are common side effects for the first few weeks people take Truvada; those symptoms then diminish.

Because Truvada has already been approved to treat H.I.V. infection, doctors have been free to prescribe it for prevention, and some have been doing so. Prescribing a drug for something other than its approved purpose, called off-label use, is allowed by the F.D.A, though drug companies are not permitted to market or promote drugs for such uses.

Advocates of Truvada’s use for prevention say F.D.A. approval would help ensure the drug was more safely and effectively used. The medicine would have to be labeled with specific instructions for taking it, including which lab tests patients need to get for safety reasons. For instance, patients should be tested periodically for H.I.V. infection, because if someone who is already infected takes Truvada alone, drug-resistant strains of the virus may quickly develop. Some patients may also need to have their kidney function monitored. And the drug can also cause slight decreases in bone density that may need monitoring in some people. F.D.A. approval may also make it more likely that insurers would cover preventive use, which costs about $14,000 a year.

Truvada, which contains two antiviral drugs, is sold by Gilead Sciences, based in Foster City, Calif. Though it will be used alone for prevention, it must be taken along with other antiviral to treat H.I.V. First approved in 2004, it quickly became one of the best-selling H.I.V. drugs. Gilead reported Truvada sales of $758.3 million in the first quarter of this year, which would translate into more than $3 billion a year.

A Gilead official, Dr. Andrew Cheng, told the panel on Thursday that if Truvada is approved for prevention, the company will conduct safety monitoring and provide educational materials that will emphasize the importance of using other prevention methods as well, like condoms, counseling and regular H.I.V. testing. He said Gilead would also provide other services, including free condoms and testing for H.I.V. and hepatitis B; subsidized tests for viral resistance for people who become infected; and an assistance program for people with no prescription coverage.

A number of prevention studies of Truvada have been conducted in the past few years, with somewhat mixed results. A study of 2,499 gay men in six countries, published in 2010, found an overall risk reduction of 44 percent in men for whom Truvada was prescribed. When researchers looked more closely and checked blood levels of the drug, they found that many of the men had not taken it every day. Among those who did take it correctly, the risk reduction was about 90 percent. But only about 10 percent of the men took the pills exactly as directed.

Some studies in Africa and Asia have also shown significant risk reduction among healthy people whose partners were infected. But other studies in Africa were halted because the drug was showing no benefit in women; subsequent analyses revealed that many of the women were not taking the pills, sometimes because they did not think they were at risk.

The failure of some people in the studies to take the pills every day has led the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a medical and advocacy group based in Los Angeles, to contend that prescribing Truvada as prevention could backfire, leaving people vulnerable while lulling them into believing that sex without condoms is safe.

“You will definitely have a result that is far worse than what you had in any of the studies,” Michael Weinstein, the foundation’s president, said in an interview.

But a researcher who conducted the study in gay men, Dr. Robert M. Grant of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, disagreed, likening Mr. Weinstein’s argument to that of people in the 1970s who warned that air bags in cars would lead people to stop using seat belts.

“Did that happen?” Dr. Grant asked in an interview. “No.”

He said the goal of prevention research was to provide many ways to avoid infection so that everyone was using at least two of them.

Existing methods include condoms, counseling, male circumcision and widespread use of antiviral medicines by people who are already have H.I.V., even in the early stages, because treatment has been shown to significantly reduce the odds that they will infect others.