Black Treatment Advocates Network LA sponsors countywide summit on new treatments to prevent HIV infection (PrEP)

LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles chapter of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN) and the Black AIDS Institute, in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Car Pros Kia of Carton, FAME Corporations, Reach LA, THE Clinic, JWCH Institute, The Men's Health Foundation, and other local organizations will host "Black Lives Matter: What's PrEP Got to Do with It," a Black PrEP Summit to address the underutilization of PrEP in Black communities, to present information on the latest biomedical advances in preventing the disease, and provide resources to help people in Los Angeles County at high risk for HIV infection access those services.

The Black AIDS Institute will also release its 2016 State of AIDS in Black America Report.  This annual report and roundup explores the latest scientific, educational, and public policy breakthroughs of the year and provides an analysis of the import of these developments to and on Black communities.  This year's report will focus on the state of PrEP and other biomedical interventions in Black America.

The event will take place on Thursday, March 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at FAME Corporations, 1968 West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Presentations will include: Biomedical Science Overview; Accessing Health Insurance and Financing PrEP, Best Practices in Teaching, Prescribing and Taking PrEP. The afternoon breakout sessions will explore the Influence of Intersectionality on Black Gay, Bisexual & Other Same-Gender-Loving Men; Black Women; Black Transgender People; Black Heterosexual Men; and Black Youth.

Phill Wilson, President & Chief Executive Officer, of the Black AIDS Institute hopes the summit will raise awareness of PrEP in Black communities.

PrEP has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of an HIV negative person acquiring HIV-from a positive partner or a partner of unknown HIV status.  While the uptake of PrEP is growing in other communities, it is still being underutilized in Black communities. "This is a classic example of Black people potentially being left behind.  We have a treatment, when used appropriately, can potentially help end the AIDS epidemic in our community and most of us don't know anything about it," said Wilson.

This LA PrEP Summit presents an opportunity to raise awareness in the latest biomedical advances being used in the treatment and prevention of AIDS as well as providing service providers, researchers, policymakers, and community members with a forum for identifying best practices and implementation strategies for uptake of PrEP among Black people.

Lunch will be served.  There will be HIV testing throughout the day and all summit attendees will be entered into a free raffle for a brand new 2016 Kia Forte from Car Pros Kia of Carson.  For more information or to register for the summit, go to: www.losangelesprepsummit.eventbrite.com. 

Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN)
The Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN) is the only collaboration of its kind that links Black Americans with HIV into care and treatment, strengthens local and national leadership, connects influential peers, raises HIV science and treatment literacy in Black communities and advocates for policy change and research priorities. BTAN is a program of the Black AIDS Institute.

Black AIDS Institute
Founded in 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank in the United States focused exclusively on Black people.  The Institute's mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities be engaging and mobilizing Black institutions, leaders, and individuals in efforts to confront HIV/AIDS.  The Institute disseminates information, offers training and capacity building, provides testing and linkage to care, influences both private and public HIV/AIDS policy, and conducts mobilization and advocacy from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.

FAME Corporations
Since 1992, FAME Corporations has been a community partner and leader in addressing social and economic inequalities affecting low-income, underserved communities in Los Angeles. Today, FAC serves over 1,000,000 people annually by leveraging strong community-wide partnerships, agency relationships, and organizational collaborations to deliver relevant and culturally appropriate programs impacting people's lives and improving the neighborhoods and communities they call home.

SOURCE Black AIDS Institute

Related Links

http://www.blackaids.org