A project analysing tweets alongside take-up of HIV services in Brazil show social media can inform public health. Advertisers have seen the potential of social media for informing their work for years, but public health is only just looking into the potential for improving the impact of campaigns. Read More
Rapid HIV Testing Roadshow An Australian First
HIV Foundation Queensland is taking its new Rapid Roadshow vehicles to the road in the coming weeks in an Australian-first concept aimed at raising awareness around 20-minute rapid HIV testing.
The eye-catching Rapid Roadshow vehicles are themed with colourful and vibrant pink flamingos and we encourage anyone seeking more information about HIV or rapid testing to come and join us on the astroturf lawn and chat to the team of HIV educators. Read More
Nepal: Draft criminal code prohibiting infectious disease transmission singles out people with HIV and hepatitis B
Lawmakers in Nepal are considering a draft law that singles out people with HIV and hepatitis B, contrary to recommendations from UNAIDS and the Global Commission on HIV and the Law.
According to the draft text, tweeted by IRIN Humanitarian News, Article 103 ‘Prohibition of transmission HIV’ of Chapter 5, Offenses against Public Interest, Health, Safety, Facilities and Morals, criminalises people who are “aware of knowledge of one’s own positive HIV or Hepatitis B status”, who “purposefully or knowingly commit acts that would transmit Hepatitis B or HIV, give blood or coerce to give blood or come into sexual contact without precautionary measures in place, or cause entry of blood, semen, saliva, or other bodily fluids into the body of another.” Read More
Macau activists demand domestic violence bill includes gays
LGBTI activists delivered a letter to Macanese government headquarters yesterday demanding domestic violence laws include gay couples. One of the arguments for dropping gay couples from domestic violence laws was that their inclusion would be inconsistent with the penal code. Read More
Israel gay teens are eight times more likely to attempt suicide
Israel's gay teens are attempting suicide at an alarming rate, but the group Israel Gay Youth has said they are being ignored. They say LGBTI teens attempt suicide at a rate of 20%, compared with 2.5% for teens overall. Read More
New Mental Health Campaign Trains Gay Men To Become “Lifeguards”
The National LGBTI Health Alliance has recently launched a campaign aimed at fostering a community conversation and giving gay men the confidence, knowledge and skills to become “lifeguards” in their social networks to support themselves, partners and friends. Research shows that gay men often see their friends struggling with anxiety and depression but lack the confidence or skills to reach out to them to help.
Executive director Rebecca Reynolds said: “This project will provide a whole new level of support to gay male identified individuals and communities by encouraging them to be confident to know how and when to help their mates experiencing anxiety and depression and how and when to encourage their mates to seek help and support.” Read More
Young LGBT People in Kenya Fight the Odds & Make Life Better for Peers
A lot of work remains to be done before LGBTs in Kisumu and in the rest of Kenya are fully accepted. Yet, with relatively few means, a young organisation like Men Against AIDS Youth Group (MAAYGO) has created a safe environment where LGBTs can talk openly about their sexuality and safe sex and where they can just simply be themselves for a moment without having to worry about what others might think of them.
'At some point, my friends were dying one after another', says Kennedy, one of the founding members. 'No one dared to admit they were suffering from HIV/AIDS. They all pretended it was malaria or tuberculosis. As a result of this shame and denial, the disease spread only further.' Read More
Giant pink condom erected in Sydney for HIV awareness
The 157 year old 60 ft tall obelisk in Sydney's Hyde Park has been sheathed in the pink condom-shaped cover as is part of the Aids Council of New South Wales (Acon) "I'm ON" campaign to encourage safe sex among gay men.
Some have criticised the decision to erect the giant condom in a park where children are playing, but the stunt has yet to experience the kind of backlash recorded over the giant inflatable "sex toy" sculpture in Paris, which was meant to depict a Christmas tree. Read More
The New Bathhouse Vending Machines That Offer Free At-Home HIV Tests
In an effort to combat increases in HIV infections, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has teamed up with FLEX Spas, a national chain of bathhouses, to install vending machines in their Los Angeles location that will dispense Ora-Quick In-Home HIV Tests.
“The new HIV self-test kit vending machines available at sex clubs in Los Angeles are a true breakthrough in access to HIV testing,” said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, of UCLA, stating that the vending machines represent the successful partnership among researchers, community organizations and businesses. Read More
UNAIDS to Launch HIV Testing Campaign Across Africa in World Record Bid
The UN will conduct a multi-country HIV testing campaign in Africa to mark this year's World AIDS Day under the leadership of African national governments in close collaboration with the regional support team for Eastern and Southern Africa (RST ESA) from UNAIDS, civil society organisations, and other regional and international partners.
The initiative is seeking to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of free HIV tests carried out in multiple areas in one day. The record is currently held by Argentina, which conducted 3,733 free HIV tests in a single eight-hour period in Rosario city in commemoration of the 2012 World AIDS Day. Read More
Elton John AIDS Foundation makes $300,000 (€236,000) donation to the HRC
Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish announced a donation to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the US. The money will be used for HIV awareness and prevention programs, with a focus on young bisexual and gay men and transgender women. Read More
Gays complain of HIV prevention overdose
Homosexuals in the Chennai, India have complained that they are being given overdoses of messages on HIV prevention and that programmes concerning the community should address their psychological needs more.
Though the study says that gay men in India have an HIV seroprevalence rate that is 22 times higher than the country's general population, those surveyed have a different take. "It is better not to keep concentrating on HIV... I think it is important to raise the low self-esteem of MSMs," one of the interviewees said. Read More