National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

To mark National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10, the Niagara County AIDS Task Force sponsored a health conference from in the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center.

The aim was to bring together members of the community and professionals who serve women in health, education, social, religious or other capacities to learn about HIV and to brainstorm strategies to prevent its spread. Every 35 minutes, another woman tests positive for HIV in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Information on the following was presented:

• How HIV is transmitted and on how girls and women can protect themselves.
• Best practices to promote optimal health among women and girls.
• Where to get tested for HIV and why it is so important to be diagnosed early.
• Local treatment venues and options.
• Ways to overcome the stigma surrounding HIV testing and living with HIV/AIDS.
• How faith-based communities can be enlisted in the HIV fight.

Follow this link to see the program with schedule of events and sponsors.

Hear what WBFO has to say about this program at this link. The news piece is titled "Realizing realities of HIV/AIDS for women & girls" by Eileen Buckley & Ashley Hassett.

Rev. Jimmy Rowe, Director NCATF, delivers the Keynote address.

From left, Joyce Wilson and Renee Law of MOCHA, and Dierdre Y. Daniels of the New York State Health Department discuss the information presented in the meeting.

Renee Cadzow, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, SUNY Buffalo.

HIV 101, Understanding the Basics: Celebrating National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Ava White, GROUP Ministries, Inc. Buffalo, NY.

Accessing Healthcare and other Community Resources.

Renee Cadzow, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, Primary Care Research Institute, Dept. of Family Medicine State University of New York at Buffalo, Evaluation Director, New York State Area Health Education Center System (NYS AHEC).

Peter Hubbard of the Niagara County AIDS Task Force speaks about the stigma of HIV and the discrimination that HIV-positive individuals often face, following the screening of the WNED production "Dangerous Silence — AIDS."