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F O C U |
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Vol. 7=
, Issue 10, May 31, 2011 |
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Your e=
mail will NEVER be sold or provided to groups outside o=
f GMTF. Questions/comments or to be removed fro=
m our mailing list, please email us at =
fdh@mtgayhealth.org or call (toll-free) 888-713-4683. Chec=
k out our website at: =
www.mtgayhealth.org. FOCUS=
is made possible through funding provided by the Montana Department of Pub=
lic Health and Human Services (DPHHS), HIV/STD Prevention Section |
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GMTF Members: Steven Barr=
ios (Browning) Brian Flikke=
ma (Bozeman) Frank G=
ary (Butte) Tom Gocks=
ch (Helena) Eric Hal=
l (Polson) Brad Nel=
son (Kalispell) Mpower=
MT (Core group): Philip RobersonBrady RoweNathan Sherrod Our Staff (Missoula): David H=
errera — Director Jon Freel=
and — Associate Dir. Chantz=
Thilmony — Outreach / MpowerMT Supervisor=
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June 17 — 19 — Montana Pride Celebration! For more info or to donate, email . [Bozeman] 17 — 19 — Montan=
a Gay Men’s Task Force Meetings. [Bozeman] 27 — National HIV Tes=
ting Day! [Worldwide] July 29 — 31 — Monta=
na Two-Spirit Gathering at 40=
6-829-8075. [Wolf Creek] September 29 — 31 — HIV+ Gay=
Men’s Health Retreat at 40=
6-829-8075. [Helena] For more events, click here
Calend=
ar of Events On Friday I chaired a lively meeting of the Inst=
itute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, f=
ounded by leading AIDS researcher Dr. Robert C. Gallo. The week before, Bob=
had announced that we had received $23 million in new funding for an HIV/A=
IDS vaccine. The funds came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the=
U.S. Army, and others, including the National Institutes of Health. I thought about how much had changed since Bob h=
ad co-discovered the AIDS virus in 1984 and since 1996, when then-Governor =
Parris Glendening and I recruited him and his team to Maryland. While resea=
rchers are still struggling to develop a preventive vaccine, the treatment =
of HIV/AIDS has drastically changed. For most of the developed world, HIV/A=
IDS has been transformed from a death sentence to a chronic disease. Unfortunately, this isn't the case in the develo=
ping world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where millions don't have a=
ccess to life-saving drugs. For them the death sentence has not been commut=
ed. We need to accelerate our efforts to treat every=
one infected with HIV. About 31 million people are infected worldwide, and =
we're only treating 3 million. Over the last 14 years, the Institute of Human V=
irology has expanded from a small facility with less than a $10 million ann=
ual operating budget to a $114 million worldwide operation with a staff of =
300 in Baltimore and many more overseas. We treat over 5,000 patients in Ba=
ltimore and are the largest recipient of U.S. government funds for HIV/AID =
programs in Africa and the Caribbean, where we provide antiretroviral drugs=
to 500,000 people. When Bob made the announcement about the grants,=
world-famous researchers crowded into the open hallway on the third floor =
of his Baltimore facility for a press conference. Institute scientists, lab=
technicians, and students hung over the balconies of the fourth, fifth, an=
d sixth floors, excited about the new funds. We gave them a shout-out for t=
heir dedication and discoveries. I knew how difficult the advances had been to ac=
hieve. A few years ago, Bob had complained at a board meeting that we didn'=
t have the funds for a second set of monkey trials. The first round of rese=
arch had gone well, but it was hard to find the money to do more. Stewart G=
reenebaum, my predecessor as board chair, shook his head, aghast. "We'=
re trying to fight one of the biggest threats to human life, and there isn'=
t money for monkeys?" A few days later, he wrote a check so that the r=
esearch could continue. To view, CLICK HERE! Why HIV Treatment Need=
s 10 Times Its Current Funding By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend ~ =
MAY 17 2011 |
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