TOTAL LIFE PROSPERITY » HIV/AIDS

Sheila Johnson’s Fight Against HIV in DC & why she’s ashamed of BET

Total Life Prosperity — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:27:54 +0000

Sheila Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Network (BET) is using her riches from launching BET to raise awareness of the capital’s AIDS crisis with a new documentary. The billionaire talks to Lloyd Grove about the pandemic, why she’s “ashamed” of BET now, and how politics disillusioned her.

” Don’t even get me started,” says the 60-year-old Johnson, who has since divorced and remarried (charmingly enough, to the Virginia circuit court judge who presided over her divorce). “I don’t watch it. I suggest to my kids [a 20-something daughter and a college-age son] that they don’t watch it… I’m ashamed of it, if you want to know the truth.”

Johnson—who was at the Tribeca Film Festival this week for the premiere of The Other City, a searing, but ultimately hopeful documentary she produced about the AIDS epidemic in Washington, D.C.—says BET is making matters worse, and potentially contributing to the spread of AIDS, by promoting promiscuous, unprotected sex in raunchy late-night rap videos.

It wasn’t always that way. “When we started BET, it was going to be the Ebony magazine on television,” Johnson tells me. “We had public affairs programming. We had news… I had a show called Teen Summit, we had a large variety of programming, but the problem is that then the video revolution started up… And then something started happening, and I didn’t like it all. And I remember during those days we would sit up and watch these videos and decide which ones were going on and which ones were not. We got a lot of backlash from recording artists…and we had to start showing them. I didn’t like the way women were being portrayed in these videos.”

Johnson says she no longer has any connection with BET. “I just really wish—and not just BET but a lot of television programming—that they would stop lowering the bar so far just so they can get eyeballs to the screen,” she says. “I know they think that’s what’s going to keep programming on the air; that’s what’s going to sell advertising. But there has got to be some responsibility. Somebody has got to take this over. Because with all the studies that are out there, this is contributing to an atmosphere of free sex, ‘I don’t have to protect myself anymore.”

“It is pandemic, and now that the movie has come out we’re starting to hear from other cities that they’re having the same problems. Our goal is to take this movie across the country so that other cities start looking at themselves a little harder… Society and government really believe this problem has gone away. People don’t know that this disease is still around.”

Johnson says she was gripped by HIV as a subject “because it is disproportionately affecting women. There are the problems of gender-based violence, and women giving birth to babies and losing their children at a rapid rate because they have AIDS. We’ve got the same problems right here in the District of Columbia as they do in Africa. The sexy thing to do is to be able to travel afar and hold babies in our arms. [Hello, Madonna and Angelina Jolie!] I’m not demeaning that at all, but we have got our own problems, I just decided we need to come home and focus on our problems, because they’re getting worse here in our own country.”

Read the full article on the Daily Beast

H&M’s Fashion Against AIDS Festival Collection

Total Life Prosperity — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:42:32 +0000

H&M’s Fashion Against AIDS Festival Collection

FabSugar.com gives readers an exclusive first look at H&M’s Fashion Against AIDS campaign. It’s built to mix and match and designed to take you from beginning to end of your concert stay, complete with sleeping bags, a tent, and cool headphones.

H&M is also debuting a dedicated hippie chic collection to the cause. Launching May 20th. H&M’s first festival collection will donate 25% of sales to youth HIV/AIDS awareness projects. The collection will encompass the entire festival experience — from clothes and accessories to tents and sleeping bags, raising funds to promote the message of safe sex.

Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s head of design, describes:

“For me, festivals are unique and inspirational places, as they unite both music and fashion. To hear your favorite bands, to see and meet creative people gathered together from all over the world and sporting different looks is really inspiring to me. And it’s very important to make people aware of HIV and AIDS. We want to contribute in the fight against the disease by donating a portion of the sales from this collection.”

View the rest of the collection

I Rock The Red Pump: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Total Life Prosperity — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:01:23 +0000

I Rock The Red Pump!

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is a nationwide initiative celebrated on March 10th every year to raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls.In observance of this day, The Red Pump Project asked bloggers to participate in the 2nd annual “Rock the Red Pump” campaign: 500 in 50. As a public health professional I proudly support the campaign! I Rock the Red Pump on my blog to represent the strength and courage of women fighting HIV/AIDS or affected by the disease both directly and indirectly.

This year focuses on this statistic:

Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States. More and more women have become infected with HIV since it was first reported in the early 1980s. Today, about 1 in 4 Americans living with HIV are women.

Find a testing site near you

Learn more about the Red Pump Project and the project founder Awesomely Luvvie

Life in the district: DC set to be 1st US city giving away free female condoms

Total Life Prosperity — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:32:01 +0000

DC set to become the first US city to give away free female condoms

The District will become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms free, part of a project that will make 500,000 of them available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates. The project is funded through a $500,000 grant from the MAC AIDS Fund, a subsidiary of MAC Cosmetics. The distribution could begin within the next three weeks in parts of wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. HIV/AIDS infection is the leading cause of death for black women 25-34 nationwide. A 2008 report showed the District’s HIV/AIDS rate at an alarming 3% (approximately 15,100 adults) which is considered a major epidemic. The project goal is to aggressively to attack the city’s disproportionate rate of HIV infection.

Shannon Hader, director of the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration said:

“Anywhere male condoms are available, female condoms will be available. We’re trying to make every effort count to build on what already exists . . . to expand options rather than limit them.”

CVS became the nation’s first pharmacy to sell the female condom. Female condoms will be offered next to male condoms in all of its 56 city stores, not just in target areas. A package of three female condoms sells for $6.50. A three-pack of male condoms sells for $5 to $7.

[source]

*TotalLifeProsperityBlog does not promote pre-marital sex or risky sexual behavior but for those who choose to have sex we encourage safe sex. Protect yourself!

Rock the Red Pump!

Total Life Prosperity — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:02:03 +0000

Rock the Red Pump!

Every year, the United States recognizes March 10th as National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It’s a nationwide initiative to raise awareness about the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women & girls and encourages ladies to take action. While progress has definitely been made in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, women still represent 27% of all new AIDS diagnoses, with African-American women accounting for 66% of that group. This year focuses on this statistic:

”Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States.“

In observance of this day, The Red Pump Project is asking bloggers to participate in the second annual “Rock the Red Pump” campaign: 500 in 50. As a public health professional I proudly support the campaign!

If you’re interested in participating in the “Rock the Red Pump” campaign, please send an email to rocktheredpump@theredpumpproject.com. I hope my readers will support The Red Pump Project on March 10th!

Learn more about the Red Pump Project and the project founder Awesomely Luvvie

WORLD AIDS DAY 2009

Total Life Prosperity — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:02:43 +0000

Today is World’s Aids which was established in 1988 to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS projects around the world. According to statistics, AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American woman ages 25-34. It’s a huge epidemic with almost 3 million new HIV cases reported last year and 2 million HIV related deaths worldwide.

Here are the Basics:

HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system – the body’s defense against diseases.

Are and HIV and AIDS the same?

No. When someone is described as living with HIV, they have the HIV virus in their body. A person is considered to have developed AIDS when the immune system is so weak it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope.

How is HIV passed on?

HIV can be passed on through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk.

The most common ways HIV is passed on are:

Sex without a condom with someone living with HIV
Sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment
From an HIV-positive mother (to her child) during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding (but with effective treatment and care the risk of transmission can be greatly reduced)

Is there a cure for HIV?

No, but treatment can keep the virus under control and the immune system healthy. People on HIV treatment can live a healthy, active life, although they may experience side effects from the treatment. If HIV is diagnosed late, treatment may be less effective.

How can I protect myself and others from HIV infection?

Always use a condom when having vaginal or anal sex. You also may want to use a condom or dental dam during oral sex although the risk of transmission of HIV is much lower. You can get free condoms from a sexual health clinic. Never share needles, syringes or any other injecting equipment.

Some 2008 HIV stats:

7,298 new diagnoses
The two groups most affected remain gay and bisexual men and black heterosexuals. Three-quarters of people diagnosed were among these two groups.
2,760 new diagnoses among men who have sex with men
2,790 new diagnoses among people from black and minority ethnic communities

For more information visit these sites:

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

http://www.aids.gov/world-aids-day/

http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/

Fab Friday: Fabulous over 40

Total Life Prosperity — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:01:37 +0000

I am sooo determined to be on someone’s Fab Over 40 List and this is why! Halle Berry and Iman put some mid-twenties ladies to shame! Looking good and for a good cause…they attended Alicia Keys Keep a Child Alive Benefit Black Ball which benefits children and families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. iDig it

Have a great weekend!!!

DC PROTEST AGAINST HIV/AIDS

totallifeprosperity — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:17:34 +0000

In response to the alarming news of the DC HIV/AIDS rate rising to 3% -HIV positive District residents, members of DC Fights Back , Campaign To End AIDS, along with local allies will conduct a press conference and protest in front of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, on March 20 at 12 noon. They will be protesting the District’s lack of vision and effective crisis management in response to the HIV & AIDS epidemic

HIV/AIDS Rate in D.C. Hits 3%

totallifeprosperity — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:59:35 +0000

As a public health professional dedicated to promoting TOTAL LIFE PROSPERITY I was saddened when I heard the report on HIV/AIDS rates on the rise here in the district. Here’s a summary of the 2008 epidemiology report by the District’s HIV/AIDS office report:

At least 3% of District residents have HIV or AIDS! that constitutes a “generalized and severe” epidemic!!! That translates into 2,984 residents per every 100,000 over the age of 12

“Our rates are higher than West Africa,” said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District’s HIV/AIDS Administration

“We have every mode of transmission” — men having sex with men, heterosexual, & injected drug use — “going up, all on the rise”

More than 4%of blacks in the city are known to have HIV, along with almost 2 percent of Latinos and 1.4 percent of whites. 76% of the HIV infected are black, 70% are men, and 70% are age 40 & older.

Heterosexual sex was the principal mode of transmission for blacks with the disease: 33% Men having sex with men was the chief mode of transmission for white residents: 78%; and Latinos, 49%. Black women represent more than a quarter of HIV cases in the District, and most, about 58%, were infected through heterosexual sex. About a quarter of black women were infected through drug use.

22% increase in HIV and AIDS cases reported at the end of 2006

Black men carry an infection rate of nearly 7%

Almost 1 in 10 residents between the ages of 40-49 has the virus.

THESE STATS ARE OUTRAGEOUS!!!! We have to do something to stop to spread of this deadly virus. The bible declares in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish for lack of knowledge” So I want to provide people with the knowledge to protect themselves. HIV can be transmitted in three main ways: Sexual transmission , Transmission through blood, Mother-to-child transmission. Here is an easy, ABC list of sexual transmission HIV prevention:

THE ABC METHOD :

Abstinence… Simple STOP SCREWING!!!!!!!

Being tested for HIV and being faithful in marriage and monogamous relationships. GET TESTED!!!! THINK MORE OF YOURSELF! This is your the only life, you get 1 body…INVEST IN YOUR SELF by knowing your status…if you don’t invest in yourself who will????

Correct and consistent use of condoms for those who practice high-risk behaviours. Condoms are the only form of protection that can both help to stop the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV and prevent pregnancy. You need to use a new condom every time you have sexual intercourse. Never use the same condom twice!