This article was provided by the National Minority AIDS Council; Paul Kawata is the organization's executive director.

I believe that this year's United States Conference on AIDS (November 10-13) in Chicago, is one of the most important in our history. Our movement is at a crossroads as we work to implement the Affordable Care Act and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. We can change the course of the epidemic. Biomedical innovations like Treatment as Prevention (TasP) as part of a combined prevention agenda could end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our lifetime.

At the same time, this has been a difficult year for many of us on the front lines. AIDS organizations across the country have experienced cuts in funding and revenue that have forced them to eliminate programs or even close their doors at a time when demand for their services has risen.

This year's USCA's theme is, "Make Change Real: Unite. Speak. Act." As legislators across the country work to reduce deficits and cut spending, we must all come together as a cohesive movement, speak up and make sure that the promise this moment holds doesn't slip through our collective fingers. That's what USCA is all about -- bringing the community together to discuss the most pressing issues facing our national response to the epidemic and planning for the future.

This year's USCA target population is gay and bisexual men or men who have sex with men (MSM). While HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on all minority communities, the three populations with the highest number of infections in 2009 were White, African American and Latino gay and bisexual men. This is the first time in the epidemic's history that the number of infections among Latino gay and bisexual men outpaced African American women. What's more, for several years now, gay and bisexual men have been the only population where infection rates were on the rise.

Given these statistics, this year's USCA will have a special gay men's plenary featuring David Furnish, chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, as its keynote speaker. The plenary will also include CNN anchor Don Lemon, Arizona State Senator Jack Jackson, former Project Runway contestant Mondo Guerra and BeiBei Ye, the director of the Zhixing Guangzhou LGBT Center in China. This session will also feature singer and Broadway legend, Jennifer Holiday.

We have worked hard to ensure that USCA 2011 will provide a forum unlike any other -- an opportunity for workers from all fronts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic --from case managers and physicians, to public health workers and advocates, people living with HIV/AIDS to policymakers -- to build national support networks, exchange the latest information and learn cutting­ edge tools to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS. I hope that you will join us in Chicago this November and seize this critical moment for our community. The time has come, and we have the power to make change real.

Paul Kawata is the executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council.

Get e-mail notifications every time Positive Policy is updated.

Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS and Young Men Who Have Sex With Men Quiz: Are You at Risk for HIV? 10 Common Fears About HIV Transmission More on HIV Prevention Issues for Gay Men

BLOG:
Positive Policy

Positive Policy is a multi-blogger forum for sharing developments in law, policy and activism relevant to people living with, working in and otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS.

Recent Posts:

View All Posts

A Brief Disclaimer:

The opinions expressed by TheBody.com's bloggers are entirely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheBody.com itself.

TheBody.com App Get Our Newsletters My Health Tracker Medication and Health Reminders Assess Your Risk for HIV Follow Us: Facebook, Twitter, RSS

The Body: About The Body | Contact The Body | Site Policies | Content Providers | Advertise With Us | Site Map

Remedy Health Media: About Remedy Health Media | Contact Remedy Health Media | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.