SAN DIEGO – AIDS Walk & Run San Diego and The San Diego LGBT Community Center have launched a community education campaign to help end new HIV infections.
“#BeTheGeneration” is designed to strengthen prevention and education efforts, and increase access and utilization of HIV testing and treatment options. It also aims to help lessen the stigma still too often associated with being HIV positive.
“We can be the generation that ends HIV/AIDS as an epidemic-level illness in San Diego,” said Dr. Delores A. Jacobs, chief executive officer of The San Diego LGBT Community Center, which produces AIDS Walk San Diego. “Together, we can commit to innovative strategies that will reduce new cases in San Diego.”
Jacobs outlines a set of strategies — including prevention, testing and treatment – to help bring about an end to the epidemic.
“To reduce new infections, we must provide HIV/AIDS education without shame or fear, as well as access to condoms and medications for all who choose them,” Jacobs said. “PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) are revolutionary tools in this fight, and offer the most promising hope we have seen in prevention.
“We must ensure those who have the virus can access the medical care and medications that will keep their viral loads undetectable so they will stay healthier and become much less likely to transmit the virus. We need everyone to get tested frequently, and to encourage others to do the same,” she continued. “With an intensified focus on prevention, testing and treatment, new infections can and will decrease. By decreasing the number of new infections, we will, in turn, decrease the transmission rate, and help bring about an end to this epidemic.”
Join the “#BeTheGeneration” campaign by participating in AIDS Walk & Run San Diego. This year’s 25th annual event will take place on Sat., Sept. 27, stepping off from a new location at Normal and Harvey Milk Streets.
For more information, or to register for AIDS Walk, contact Ian Johnson at (619) 692-2077, ext. 247 or at aidswalk@thecentersd.org. More information is also available at www.AIDSWalkSD.org. To arrange for pre-event interviews, or day-of-event coverage, contact Corri Planck or Dianne Hardy-Garcia at (619) 251-5589 or at planck@advocacymarketing.com.
