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So I just returned from the 2009 National HIV Prevention conference in Atlanta and I am reflecting on a number of interesting facts that I picked up at the conference. First of all Magic Johnson was the main speaker for the opening night. He was wonderful. If you have never heard him speak he is very personable. He walked up and down the aisles while speaking allowing people to take his picture and to also take pictures with him while he spoke. This was very interesting because people were hell-bent on getting his picture even if they had to disrupt the conference to do so so this was a reasonable compromise.
Anyway he spoke about the need to increase our preventative efforts as it relates to HIV. He apparently has just completed a tour where he and a number of other big names in HIV prevention went on a circuit of black chrurches and engaged the congregants on issues related to HIV. The goal was to increase the participation of the church in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He also spoke to the myth that people have that he somehow was able to access some wonder drugs for his HIV whcih have contributed to his continued health. He spoke of himself as being 'one of the best things that ever happened to HIV and one of the worse things that ever happened to HIV'. He was one of the best things because his diagnosis and subsequent announcement increased awareness of HIV overnight. His continued health however has made some folk begin to minimize the impact of HIV and to perhaps continue to engage in risky behavior. It is believed that some folk think that if Magic can get HIV and do so well then they too don't have to worry as much about contracting the disease. Magic empahsized that his continued health was due to him working with his doctors and undegoing the same regimen that other HIV survivors have had to undergo. He mentioned that at one point he too was taking 15 different pills 3x/day. He like everyone else who is currently HIV positive can live for many years if they take care of themselves and follow their doctors orders.
HIV?AIDS is still a serious issue in the world. It also continues to have a dispoportionate effect on the African American community. Although African americans are only about 12% of the community they make up almost 48% of HIV/AIDS cases. This is alarming. Their numbers are continuing to grow at a rapid rate. The majority of cases are MSM (men who have sex with men) but heterosexual black women are still at significant risk.
Everyone is optimistic that the new presidential administration will enable us to make significant strides in fighting this disease. Apparently there will be more freedom in getting government assistance in developing a wider array of preventative efforts.
I have to admit the conference did leave me feeling a little confused. There was significant discussion regarding how the key to preventing HIV/AIDS cases was dealing with the psychosocial issues that impact those at risk for HIV/AIDS such as racism, homophobia, poverty, poor healthcare, ineffective interventions, etc. The speakers at the conference almost led you to believe that if everyone openly accepted validated the homosexual lifestyle, and the transgender community, and the bisexual community that we would be well on our way to eradicating this virus. They targeted specific inistituions like the 'black church' and other groups and charged the heterosexual community to truly support the homosexual community. This was toted as a way to get the best of this disease. Of course there was a lot of information presented on new medications, new testing options, and other medical interventions. There was also significant discussion regarding the effective use of condoms. The general message however was that these proven ways of dealing with HIV/AIDS were limited to the extent that the larger psychosocial issues were addressed.
I guess my issue is where does personal responsibility start and social culpability end. Ultimately now matter what is going on in society I make a decision that will either benefit me or cause me grave consequences as it relates to my sexuality. Now being a social servant and a mental health practitioner I know that there are definitely situations where an indivdual does not have the power to make these choices, however, the majority of times people ar ein a position to say Yes or No. My fear with blaming it all on psychosocial issues
