Readout of Secretary Azar’s First Day of Participation at the 2018 World Health Assembly

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar began his participation at the World Health Assembly (WHA) as head of the United States delegation by delivering remarks during a plenary session of the WHA. 

Speaking to representatives of the Member States, Secretary Azar laid out key priorities for the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO) and challenged the WHO to keep its focus on its primary mission of preventing, detecting, and responding to public health emergencies. 

The Secretary’s remarks included:

• An announcement of up to $7 million in additional assistance to go towards the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo – making the total U.S. commitment up to $8 million; 
• A recognition that it is disappointing and inappropriate that Taiwan was not invited to observe the WHA; and
• A focus on the importance of private-sector engagement and innovation, particularly when it comes to access to medications.

Secretary Azar highlighted the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce drug prices for patients of the United States while ensuring other countries contribute their fair share to pharmaceutical innovation.

The Secretary’s full remarks are available here: 

 https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/secretary/speeches/2018-speeches/hhs-secretary-alex-azar-world-health-assembly-plenary-remarks.html.

After the speech, Secretary Azar participated in an event to champion the creation of a global research and development hub focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

During his remarks, the Secretary noted the strong U.S. commitment made through HHS agencies to address this challenge, and announced that CARB-X – a public-private partnership to address AMR – now included the support of the United Kingdom and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Later in the day, at an event sponsored by the United States government, Secretary Azar joined several nations in remembering the 100^th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic and recommended the need for a frank discussion and close collaboration to ensure the world is better prepared to protect against a potential pandemic flu.

Throughout the day, Secretary Azar spoke with representatives from multiple nations participating in the WHA and held meetings with health ministers and officials from the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. 

Discussions covered a range of global health issues, and the Secretary expressed the commitment of the United States under the Trump Administration toward strengthening global health security efforts.

UNAIDS has announced global 90-90-90 data: 70-77-82 Are we on target? What more can we do? Find out.

UNAIDS has announced global 90-90-90 data: 70-77-82

Are we on target? What more can we do? Find out.

The International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), in partnership with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), British Columbia Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BCCfE), Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+), and International AIDS Society (IAS), is hosting the 2018 90-90-90 Targets Workshop at the midpoint to the 2020 deadline for attaining the targets. The Workshop will take place July 21-21, 2018, at the RAI Amsterdam Conference Center in Amsterdam, immediately preceding AIDS 2018.   The United Nations 90-90-90 targets call for 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) to know their status, 90% of PLHIV who know their status to be on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of PLHIV on ART achieving viral suppression by 2020.   According to UNAIDS, there has been substantial global progress made since 2014 towards attainment of the 90-90-90 targets. More than two thirds of all PLHIV globally knew their HIV status at the end of 2016. Among those who knew their HIV status, 77% were accessing ART, and 82% of PLHIV on ART had suppressed viral loads. UNAIDS further announced on World AIDS Day 2017 that as of June 2017 more than half of all PLHIV, 20.9 million, were accessing ART. This global ART scale-up is the main contributor to a 48% decline in AIDS-related deaths, from a peak of 1.9 million in 2005 to 1.0 million in 2016.   However, 15.8 million PLHIV still need HIV treatment and, because most belong to stigmatized and vulnerable populations, they are at risk of being left behind. Additionally, modelling indicates that reaching 90-90-90 after 2020 could translate into a slower decrease in annual new HIV infections and a higher level of AIDS-related deaths - 3.5 million more infections, and 3 million more deaths. Stronger, smarter, more comprehensive action is thus needed now through 2020 to accelerate progress towards attaining each of the three 90 targets and to address gaps and shortcomings that jeopardize the potential to reach the targets in all settings and for all populations. Building upon the success of the 2017 90-90-90 Targets Workshop, the 2018 Workshop will feature a ministerial and high-level panel discussion aimed at connecting the dots between the 90-90-90 targets and ending AIDS as a public health threat. The Workshop will also include presentations about innovations to close gaps across the HIV care continuum. Additionally, over the course of the two-day program, the Workshop will include plenary sessions and panel discussions focused on the critical engagement of affected communities, key population-specific challenges, the evolving HIV treatment and prevention landscape, leveraging HIV platforms for the tuberculosis and viral hepatitis responses, and financing the global AIDS response. Following are the specific topics the Workshop's faculty will cover: On Track? Global and Regional Progress towards the 90-90-90 Targets Fast-Track Cities - Attaining 90-90-90 in Urban AIDS Responses Leveraging Success - The Nexus between 90-90-90 & HIV Epidemic Control Who is Dying and Why? AIDS Mortality as a Progress Metric Policy Change - Measuring 90-90-90 Progress Against National Policies Investment Case - Quantifying Civil Society Contributions towards 90-90-90 Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free - Accelerating the Pediatric HIV Agenda Social Protection - Improving HIV Outcomes among Adolescents Missing Link - Reaching and Linking Men to Health and HIV Services Getting to 90 - Optimizing Linkage to HIV Prevention and Care among Men Who Have Sex with Men Barriers to Bridges - Reducing HIV-Related Disparities for Transgender Individuals Left Behind - Prioritizing People Who Use Drugs in the AIDS Response Human Mobility and HIV - Improving Access to Services for Migrants Security of Resources - Global Finance, 90-90-90, and Ending AIDS Sustaining National AIDS Responses - South Africa's Roadmap Shouldering the SDG Burden - Should We Preserve or Share HIV Budgets? Democratizing HIV Testing - Transitioning to Community Settings Differentiated Care - Moving to Scale with Innovative Service Delivery Phylogenetic Monitoring - Moving from Science to Public Health Benefit Decriminalizing HIV - Human Rights, Public Health, and U=U Primum Non Nocere - Eliminating Stigma in Health Settings HIV Testing and Human Rights - The Right to Know vs the Right to Privacy Looking Ahead - Long-Acting Antivirals for HIV Treatment and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Behavioral Science - Taking New Learnings to Scale for HIV Prevention Challenge - Advanced HIV in Antiretroviral-Experienced Patients Intersection - Linking the 90-90-90 Targets for HIV and Tuberculosis Opportunity - Hepatitis C Elimination and Ending AIDS as a Public Health Threat The Workshop's Keynote address will focus on Maximizing Synergies - HIV within an Evolving Global Health Agenda. The ministerial and high-level panel will speak to Connecting the Dots - 90-90-90 and the Continuum to Zero. Click here to learn more about the Workshop or click here to access the Workshop program. Faculty member names and affiliations will be posted as they are invited and confirmed. Registration for the 2018 90-90-90 Targets Workshop is free-of-charge for AIDS 2018 delegates and on a and on a first-come, first-served basis.   Because the Workshop venue can only accommodate 450 delegates, individuals interested in attending are encouraged to register ASAP. REGISTER

08.02.2018 Labor Trafficking in San Francisco

ALWAYS CALL 911 IN CASE OF EMERGENCY  

613.72 KB PDF

Yes, San Francisco is a hotspot for exploitation

People are tricked with false promises of well-paid jobs and comfortable accommodation. The reality is they are forced to work long hours for little or no pay and live in squalid, overcrowded conditions.
In San Francisco human trafficking victims can be exploited in construction, restaurants, fishing boats, hotels, and domestic servitude. 
Learn more about how to SPOT THE SIGNS of human trafficking.

Seen anything suspicious? Report it.

National Human Trafficking Hotline                     888-373-7888

613.72 KB PDF

Download the Intelligence Report to learn more about the different industries in which of labor exploitation takes place around the Bay Area.
STOP THE TRAFFIK is working in collaboration with local organizations, law enforcement and the No Traffick Ahead work group to raise awareness, mobilize communities and increase community resilience to human trafficking in the Bay Area.

Help Us Prevent Human Trafficking

STOP THE TRAFFIK is building intelligence on global human trafficking activity to help combat this issue. If you have seen anything suspicious, you can share it on our online form, safely and securely.

Help Us Prevent Human Trafficking

STOP THE TRAFFIK is building intelligence on global human trafficking activity to help combat this issue. If you have seen anything suspicious, you can share it on our online form, safely and securely.

• Labor Trafficking in Oakland

 https://www.stopthetraffik.org/intelligence/labor-trafficking-san-francisco/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

Comprehensive PrEP Provider Directory and Locator

NPIN provides a comprehensive, national directory of public and private providers in the U.S. that offer pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection. 

NPIN’s database includes more than 1,800 PrEP providers from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories. 

The database provides information about each health service provider/clinic, including key services offered. 

It also lets users know if a provider offers PrEP access assistance and/or PrEP to uninsured patients at a low cost. 

To simplify access to information in the database, NPIN released a new PrEP Locator widget where users can enter a zip code and get a list of nearby PrEP providers.

Find a PrEP provider
Use the PrEP locator widget on this page to find a PrEP provider in a specific area. Enter a zip code into the search box and the widget will show a listing of nearby PrEP providers.

What is PrEP?
PrEP is a medicine that, when taken daily, lowers the chances of HIV infection among people who are at high risk. 

Daily PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. 

Among people who inject drugs, it reduces the risk by more than 70%. 

As a powerful tool for HIV prevention, PrEP can substantially reduce the chance a person will be infected with HIV, but only if they know about it and where to get it, can access the medication and laboratory services for free or at an affordable cost, and take it as directed. 

For more information and resources about PrEP, visit https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html.

 

How can providers and prevention partners use NPIN’s database and PrEP locator widget?
Providers and organizations that offer health services to people at high risk for HIV can use NPIN’s database and PrEP locator widget in several ways. You can:

• Inform people about PrEP and tell them about the NPIN PrEP Locator Widget as a tool to find PrEP providers in their area.
• Add the PrEP locator widget on your website(s). Download the widget from the NPIN Widget Library.
• Add a clinic to the database using the online request form.
• Access the data for research and evaluation purposes. Request access to the database at NPIN-info@cdc.gov. (link sends e-mail)
• Request an application programming interface, or API, to create custom data products, such as applications and programs. Request the API at NPIN-info@cdc.gov. (link sends e-mail)

Where do the data come from?
As the U.S. reference and referral service for information on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB), CDC’s NPIN collects information to maintain a national, searchable database of organizations and facilities that provide HIV/STD/TB/hepatitis testing, prevention, capacity building, treatment, care, and support services. 

NPIN and Emory University’s Preplocator.org have integrated data to provide this comprehensive, national directory of health service providers in the United States that offer PrEP. 

The integrated database, powered and maintained by NPIN, includes more than 1,800 public and private providers from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories.

How can I find out if a provider/clinic offers PrEP for patients without insurance?
If a provider/clinic in the NPIN database offers PrEP to patients without insurance, it will be specifically marked “PrEP for uninsured” in the provider/clinic’s profile on the NPIN website. 

To find this information when viewing the provider/clinic’s profile, refer to the Fee Information section where “PrEP for uninsured” will be listed.

How can I find out if a provider/clinic offers assistance with patient enrollment in payment assistance plans or review of insurance coverage?
Many providers/clinics in the NPIN database that offer PrEP also offer assistance to patients with enrollment in financial and payment assistance programs to help pay for PrEP and/or clinic visit co-pays or deductibles. 

These clinics are viewed as providing PrEP access assistance. 

If a provider/clinic in the NPIN database offers a clinic staff member (often called a PrEP navigator) to provide patients with PrEP access assistance, it will be specifically marked “PrEP Navigation” in the provider/clinic’s profile on the NPIN website. 

To find this information when viewing the provider/clinic’s profile, refer to the Support Services section where “PrEP navigation” will be listed.

Where can I find additional information and resources on PrEP?
Visit the CDC PrEP resources page for additional information and educational materials about PrEP, including resources for consumers and health care providers.