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World AIDS Day gives a yearly name to motion for us to work collaboratively to finish the HIV epidemic in america and worldwide. This 12 months marks the thirty fifth anniversary of World AIDS Day, a milestone that provides us the chance to commemorate these we’ve got misplaced to AIDS-related sicknesses; to honor the greater than 40 million individuals world wide, and greater than 1.2 million People who’re dwelling with HIV; and to lift consciousness of the significance of HIV testing, prevention, care, and remedy. This 12 months’s World AIDS Day theme, Bear in mind and Commit, additionally provides us the chance to emphasise the urgency of our collective dedication to finish the HIV epidemic. Now we have made vital progress in our effort to finish the HIV epidemic in america, however challenges stay. In lots of communities, accessing complete HIV prevention and remedy are impacted by restricted consciousness, entry, and HIV-related stigma, which proceed to hinder efforts to implement and speed up the dissemination of efficient instruments to forestall and deal with HIV.
SAMHSA’s mission is to guide public well being and repair supply efforts that promote psychological well being, forestall substance misuse, and supply remedies and helps to foster restoration whereas making certain equitable entry and higher outcomes. SAMHSA’s grant recipients work to handle the syndemic of HIV, viral hepatitis, substance use, and psychological sickness. The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everybody ages 13-64 get examined for HIV at the very least as soon as as a part of their routine well being care and know their standing. For individuals with sure threat elements, together with many individuals with or in danger for behavioral well being situations, CDC recommends getting examined at the very least yearly. Moreover, per recently-updated medical tips (PDF | 370 KB), all sexually-active adults and adolescents ought to be knowledgeable about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an choice to guard in opposition to HIV.
In 2023, SAMHSA awarded over $34 million in grants to satisfy the behavioral well being wants of people that both are in danger for contracting or live with HIV/AIDS. These grant applications embody:
$21.9 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative: Substances Use Dysfunction Remedy for Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations at Excessive Danger for HIV/AIDS. This program will increase engagement in take care of racial and ethnic medically underserved people with substance use problems (SUDs) and/or co-occurring SUDs and psychological well being situations (COD) who’re in danger for or dwelling with HIV. For instance, one grantee serves their group with SUD remedy, HIV and hepatitis C testing as effectively screening for any psychological sickness that will warrant a referral for extra companies. The grantee additionally gives restoration help companies by making a secure setting centered on household and employment to help grant beneficiaries with sustaining and sustaining long run restoration. In response to the grant recipient, “with out SAMHSA funding it might have been an enormous problem for this group to obtain these companies.”
$10.5 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative: Substance Use and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention Navigator Program for Racial/Ethnic Minorities. This program gives substance use and HIV prevention companies to these at excessive threat for SUDS and HIV, together with racial and ethnic minority populations. This system locations emphasis on supporting individuals who establish as Lesbian, Homosexual, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Intersex who aren’t in steady housing and/or reside in communities with excessive charges of HIV, viral hepatitis (together with Hepatitis A, B, and C), and/or sexually transmitted infections. For instance, one grantee observed hesitancy among the many Black males who’ve intercourse with males (MSM) in direction of initiating Pre-Publicity Prophylaxis (PrEP) or Put up-Publicity Prophylaxis (PEP). The grantee accomplished an environmental evaluation which confirmed the hesitation stemmed from lack of information about PrEP/PEP, together with the place and the best way to entry it. To deal with this barrier, the grantee carried out a media marketing campaign on radio and TV with Black MSM spokespeople to teach the general public on PrEP and PEP.
$1.9 million for the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund: Built-in Behavioral Well being and HIV Take care of Unsheltered Populations Pilot Undertaking. This pilot program goals to supply complete healthcare for medically underserved individuals, together with racial and ethnic populations experiencing unsheltered homelessness, specializing in supporting the mixing of behavioral well being and HIV remedy and prevention companies by way of the supply of moveable medical care delivered on the road or in different areas handy to unsheltered populations. Moreover, by way of this pilot program, which encompass two grant recipients primarily based in California and one grant recipient primarily based in Arizona, SAMHSA anticipates gaining some worthwhile data, together with finest practices for addressing Substance Use Issues, HIV/Hepatitis and psychological well being for unsheltered populations which will likely be shared with the general public.
SAMHSA continues to prioritize lowering HIV/AIDS transmission amongst individuals who have psychological sicknesses and/or SUDs and linking People who’ve HIV and co-occurring psychological sickness and/or substance use dysfunction to applicable care and remedy. In 2020, SAMHSA printed Prevention and Remedy of HIV Amongst Folks Dwelling with Substance Use and/or Psychological Issues, which critiques efficient applications and practices to forestall HIV and improve adherence to and retention in care. SAMHSA MAI-funded programming is in alignment with the Nationwide HIV/AIDS Technique (NHAS) (PDF | 1.8 MB), replicate SAMHSA’s commitments specified by our contribution to the NHAS Federal Implementation Plan (PDF | 707 KB), and are in alignment with the targets of the Ending the HIV Epidemic within the U.S. (EHE) initiative, of which SAMHSA is a proud contributing company. SAMHSA works with grantees, federal companies, well being care suppliers and others to implement these targets.
SAMHSA is also dedicated to centering fairness inside our HIV response by making certain improved entry to applicable HIV testing and linkage to applicable HIV remedy and prevention companies, together with in nontraditional, community-based settings. Lots of these with HIV are unaware they’re contaminated. HIV self-testing performs a essential position in reaching individuals who both don’t have entry to or favor to not get examined in conventional medical settings. To get entry to an HIV self-test, go to CDC’s Collectively TakeMeHome. Lastly, should you, or somebody you already know, is searching for assist for substance use or psychological sickness, SAMHSA’s Behavioral Well being Remedy Providers Locator may help you join with remedy applications in your space.
On World AIDS Day 2023, SAMHSA want to thank workers, grantees, federal companions, well being care suppliers, and the substance use and psychological well being group in working towards our shared aim of ending the HIV epidemic in america. Thanks for the work you do to avoid wasting lives and enhance the well being of the individuals of America.
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