PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Forty years ago, the first cases of what would later become known as AIDS were reported in the United States. Major advancements in prevention and care have been made in meantime, but a Philadelphia health care organization is still in the fight to educate and to end the stigma of the disease.
While drug regimens such PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) have helped prevent new infections, marginalized groups such as members of the LGBTQ community and women of color are still disproportionately affected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
"Women of color still lack an awareness of PrEP — like access. That shouldn’t be an issue in 2021," Dr. Tashina Reeder of Philadelphia FIGHT said. "So, that’s something we have to figure out. Wow. Why is that? Why is this this disparity still present even in 2020, more specific to women of color?"
Philadelphia FIGHT is a health services nonprofit that has provided primary medical and dental care, consumer education, advocacy and research since 1990.
Reeder says their ongoing challenges include fighting stigma around sexually transmitted infections and inequities in the health care system that block access to care and prevention.
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"And so we decided to have a conference that speaks to the racial and social inequities — because it’s still a pressing issue in health care — what can we do as organizations to change our policies and our procedures that perpetuate this issue and kind of reinforces stigma," she said.
Reeder says the 2021 HIV Prevention and Education Virtual Summit addresses that and more with the theme of addressing racial and social inequities within health care — influenced by the nationwide racial justice reckoning of the past year.
Free webinars will continue all month long and will be recorded for future access.
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