Noticed yearly on December 1 since 1988, World AIDS Day permits the worldwide group to unite with one voice to commemorate the individuals who have misplaced their lives to AIDS, present help of individuals dwelling with and affected by HIV, and lift consciousness for the continued significance of HIV prevention, care, and remedy. This yr, World AIDS Day is very poignant as a result of 2021 marks 40 years because the starting of the HIV epidemic.
At SAMHSA, we want to take this chance to recollect the greater than 36 million folks globally, together with over 700,000 folks in the US, who’ve died from AIDS-related sickness because the begin of the HIV epidemic. We honor the progress the worldwide group has made within the combat in opposition to HIV up to now 40 years whereas additionally recommitting to the worldwide effort to finish the HIV epidemic.
SAMHSA’s mission is to scale back the affect of substance abuse and psychological sickness on America’s communities. Folks with psychological or substance use issues are at an elevated danger of HIV. Substance use and psychological well being remedy facilities like these of SAMHSA’s grantees and accomplice organizations serve on the entrance strains of the HIV epidemic. They supply an essential pathway to HIV testing, remedy for individuals who check optimistic, and prevention providers to make sure that people who find themselves HIV-negative keep unfavorable.
As one among a number of collaborating HHS companies collaborating within the federal initiative Ending the Epidemic within the U.S., SAMHSA’s principal targets are to: 1) cut back new HIV infections; 2) enhance HIV-related well being outcomes; 3) cut back HIV-related well being disparities for racial and ethnic minority communities by growing testing incessantly; 4) improve referrals to remedy for HIV optimistic people; 5) present pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-negative people; and 6) help linkage to HIV remedy for enrollees that check HIV-positive.
The theme for World AIDS Day 201 is Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Entry, Everybody’s Voice. SAMHSA is dedicated to utilizing new methods and revolutionary approaches to finish the HIV epidemic. Led by our Workplace of Behavioral Well being Fairness, SAMHSA is working to place well being fairness on the heart of our response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. SAMHSA funds a number of grant applications that deal with well being inequalities skilled by communities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The Middle for Substance Abuse Remedy (CSAT) manages Minority AIDS Initiative: Excessive Danger Populations, which focuses on growing entry to substance use and HIV prevention providers for the very best danger and hardest-to-serve racial and ethnic minority populations. CSAT additionally funds the Focused Capability Growth: HIV Program, which focuses on high-risk populations together with racial and ethnic minority populations and homosexual, bisexual, and transgender people who’ve a substance use dysfunction or co-occurring dysfunction who’re HIV optimistic or in danger for HIV/AIDS.
The Middle for Psychological Well being Providers funds the Minority AIDS Initiative: Service Integration grants, which focuses on built-in evidence-based, culturally competent psychological and substance use dysfunction remedy with HIV major care and prevention providers to people with a critical psychological sickness or co-occurring dysfunction dwelling with or in danger for HIV and/or hepatitis in at-risk populations. The Middle for Substance Abuse Prevention funds SAMHSA’s Prevention Navigator Grants, which offer providers to these at highest danger for HIV and substance use issues utilizing a navigation strategy to expedite providers for these populations.
Whereas SAMHSA workers are happy with the work we’ve got achieved and proceed to do to increase substance abuse, psychological well being, and HIV care and remedy into these communities which can be underserved, we acknowledge that there’s nonetheless a lot to be achieved. We should nonetheless work to attain equitable entry to HIV prevention, care, and remedy in each group—notably for communities of coloration, the LGBTQ+ group, and different key affected populations together with folks with substance use dysfunction and psychological dysfunction.
Defending and additional increasing HIV progress would require a sustained dedication from all sectors of society and throughout different authorities approaches from nations all through the world. Working collectively, and leveraging our respective comparative benefits, we will make sure the HIV providers can be found and accessible by folks of all ages, gender, and inhabitants group worldwide. SAMHSA’s grantees have developed revolutionary methods to ship substance use dysfunction, psychological dysfunction, and HIV testing and referrals.
On World AIDS Day 2021, SAMHSA workers commends our grantees, federal companions, and the substance use dysfunction and psychological well being group as an entire for working towards our shared purpose of ending the HIV epidemic in the US. Thanks for the work you do to avoid wasting lives and enhance the well being of the folks of America.
