Mayor Phil Gordon Joins 4th Annual Mayors Campaign Against HIV In Support of National HIV Testing Day on June 27th 

    Mayor to Hold Press Conference and Take Rapid Oral HIV Test  to Raise Awareness for HIV/AIDS and Encourage Local Residents to Get Tested Maricopa County Ranks #1 in Prevalent HIV/AIDS Cases among Blacks - Interviews Available

WHO: Mayor Phil Gordon, National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), and OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR)

WHAT:  In observance of National HIV Testing Day 2008 (NHTD), Mayor Gordon has joined NAPWA and OraSure Technologies, manufacturer of the OraQuick ADVANCE® Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, in the fourth annual Mayors Campaign Against HIV – a national campaign to promote the importance of HIV screening and prevention.

Mayor Gordon will take a rapid HIV test and hold a news conference to educate the community on the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention.  In Phoenix, OraSure is actively supporting National HIV Testing Day through its donation of 500 OraQuick ADVANCE® Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Tests to the Arizona Department of Health, which will be distributed to the locations below that are offering free and confidential HIV screening throughout Phoenix on June 27th.

OraQuick ADVANCE® is safe, painless and accurate –- it requires just a swab of oral fluid (no blood or needles) and is greater than 99% accurate. Results are available in 20 minutes.

June 27th is the 4th annual National HIV Testing Day, a nationwide effort led by NAPWA and executed in partnership with major government sponsors, hundreds of local health departments, community organizations, and HIV/AIDS advocacy groups to promote the benefits of HIV testing and prevention.  Thousands of local and state community events are held across the country to encourage people to seek HIV testing and counseling.   

A Message on HIV Testing from Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States      For Local Sites please check out  National HIV Testing Day

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• Read the transcript ()

National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day                                     May 19 is the National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This awareness day intends to raise awareness among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , today there are an estimated 1.039 million to 1.185 million HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S. AIDS has killed more than 20 million people since the first cases were diagnosed in 1981. For APIs, one of the fastest-growing ethnic/racial populations in the U.S., HIV/AIDS is on the rise. According to the CDC, the number of APIs living with AIDS has climbed by more than 10 percent in each of the last 5 years. The number of adult and adolescent APIs diagnosed with AIDS through 2004 was 7,317.

CDC Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders, June 2007

In recent years, the number of AIDS diagnoses among Asians and Pacific Islanders has increased steadily. Although Asians and Pacific Islanders account for approximately 1% of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting, the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States is growing.

Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Sites

                          

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - For Local event    

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to Support by Attending Event                
Fresh Start Women’s Foundation in conjunction with Arizona Department of Health Services and Maricopa Integrated Health System will be hosting a day full of activities designed to promote awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS among the female community. Open only to adult women.

When: Monday, March 10th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Where: Jewell McFarland Lewis Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center, 1130 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85006

What: A variety of activities for adult women only are planned for this awareness day. Schedule of events to include:                              

Workshops:                                                                                                                             Domestic Violence & HIV (Dena Salter)                                                                                  Mayor Phil Gordon Speaks                                                                                                         The Empower Hour with Marge Samson                                                                              The Empower Hour with Diana Diaz in Spanish                                                                    The Road to Self-Care with Ana Flores in Spanish & English                                           What Women Need to Know About Testing (panel) Amy, Carol  

For more event information, please contact Lorraine Brown @602.344.2627 or email @ Lorraine.brown@hcs.maricopa.gov.        

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The purpose of this annual day is to raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and encourage women and girls to take action.  The theme for 2008 is “Honoring Our Sisters: Women Living with HIV/AIDS.”

Historically, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has affected more men than women, but women are being increasingly affected. Since 1985 the proportion of estimated AIDS cases diagnosed among women has more than triple, from 8 percent in 1985 to 27 percent in 2005.  And although each year more men than women become infected with HIV, the gap is slowly closing. In fact, if new HIV infections continue at the current rate worldwide, women and HIV may soon outnumber men in HIV. The epidemic has accounted for 80 percent of all women estimated to be living with AIDS: black women made up 62 percent of this total.

CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding provides information on the HIV/AIDS epidemic among U.S. women, HIV testing and how women can take action to protect their health. Read Transcript.