From Poz.com…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to discontinue its support for federal HIV clinical guidelines by next summer, according to a memo from the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR). It is not yet clear whether maintenance of the guidelines will be taken over by another government agency.

“In the climate of budget decreases and revised priorities, OAR is beginning to explore options to transfer management of the guidelines to another agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” the memo, sent to current guidelines panel members, reads in part.

The clinical guidelines, available at HIV.gov, provide detailed recommendations about antiretroviral treatment and care for adults and adolescents, children and pregnant women as well as the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections.

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From Advocate.com…

The Trump administration is preparing to eliminate all federal funding for domestic HIV prevention programs, a move that health experts say will undo decades of progress in combating the epidemic. The decision, which could be announced within the next 48 hours, would shut down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV prevention division and halt all federally funded prevention efforts, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

When asked for comment, HHS Deputy Press Secretary Emily Hilliard told The Advocate that no decision had been made. “HHS is following the Administration’s guidance and taking a careful look at all divisions to see where there is overlap that could be streamlined to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure the federal government. This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard,” she said.

Read the full article.

September 27th marks the annual observance of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NGMHAAD).

As you plan activities or outreach for NGMHAAD, check out these resources below and find resources on ending the HIV epidemic:

• HIV.gov:
  • National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day resource page (includes the logo, fact sheets and more)
  • Timeline of HIV and AIDS (for the history of the epidemic, with content about the involvement of community members)
  • Guide to Planning Awareness Day Activities
• CDC: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – September 27—Offers downloadable social media materials (in English and Spanish), infographics, conversation starters, and posters.
• TargetHIV: Ryan White and Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day  Offers information on Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program data related to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as HRSA Technical Assistance/Training Supporting MSM.

We invite you to follow HIV.gov  and CDC  on Twitter. We’ll be using #NGMHAAD to continue our long-running conversations about the epidemic’s impact on gay and bisexual men and how to take action in response to HIV.

From the Philadelphia Enquirer…

This story is part of Made In Philly, a series about young residents shaping local communities.

When Shanaye Jeffers was in fourth grade, she often skipped touch football and double-dutch jump rope at recess to read a book on puberty. In fifth grade, she jumped at the chance to do a school project on childbirth.

Most girls don’t know about the inner workings of their bodies, sexual-health experts say — especially black teenage girls, who often face stigma against asking questions at home and are poorly served by sex-education school curriculums tailored for a white majority.

“Sex ed is not serving young black women really at all,” said Jeffers, now a 28-year-old obstetrics and gynecology resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She’s trying to change that. As Philadelphia site director for Daughters of the Diaspora, a nonprofit founded in 2012 to teach black teenage girls about reproductive health and self-esteem, Jeffers is working to give other girls the same knowledge and passion to take charge of their health that she had as a child.

Read the full article.