Opinion :: Guest Opinions
Greeting World AIDS Day 2009 by Stephen L. Boswell, M.D.
President & CEO of Fenway HealthFriday Nov 20, 2009 On Dec. 1, we will mark another World AIDS Day. Commemorated each year, World AIDS Day reminds us that despite the progress we’ve made in treating and preventing HIV, we still have a long way to go in ending the epidemic.
HIV/AIDS continues to disproportionately affect gay and bisexual men in the United States. In Massachusetts, gay and bisexual men account for nearly 40 percent of known HIV/AIDS cases. In Boston, gay and bi men account for more than half of known HIV/AIDS cases. Black gay and bisexual men are especially affected, having the highest rate of HIV acquisition of any racial or ethnic group of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States.
One of the easiest things you can do to help stop the spread of HIV is to know your status. Getting tested regularly for HIV is especially important if you are sexually active outside of a monogamous relationship. Make HIV testing a part of your regular medical check-ups. You can get free HIV testing at Fenway Health’s weekly HIV Counseling, Testing and Referrals Walk-In Clinic at 1340 Boylston Street from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. HIV testing at Fenway is also available by appointment if you call (617) 267-0159. Information about other HIV testing sites in Massachusetts is available online at www.gettestedmass.org.
If you have HIV, talk to your doctor about it and make sure you are getting the care you need. If you are on medication, take it regularly as prescribed. Whether you have HIV or not, talk to your partners about it and practice safer sex. Correct and consistent usage of condoms is one of the most effective ways to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV.
Research is another important part of addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Fenway Institute is currently seeking recruits for a number of promising research projects, including an HIV vaccine study. We are enrolling black men who have sex with men into Project S.O.S., a study hoping to address the high rates of infection in that community. Fenway is also one of the study sites looking at whether taking HIV medications before risky encounters, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, might one day be a tool to fight the spread of HIV. If you have questions about HIV/AIDS research at Fenway, call us at (617) 927-6350.
World AIDS Day should be a time of action, as well as a time to remember those we have lost and think about the work still ahead of us.
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