On August 4, 2021, Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, swore in eight new members to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), one of the newest members being Kayla Quimbley, a Georgia Equality Youth HIV Policy Advisor and youth HIV advocate.

According to www.hiv.gov, “The PACHA provides advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding programs, policies, and research to promote effective prevention, treatment, and cure of HIV disease and AIDS. This includes recommendations to the Secretary regarding the development and implementation of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative and the HIV National Strategic Plan.”

Quimbley, as a Youth HIV Policy Advisor, is trained on policy and advocacy while being equipped with the resources needed to educate state, city, and county-level policymakers around the creation of meaningful HIV- related laws and strategy.

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According to the CDC, 1 in 4 new HIV infections occurs in youth ages 13 to 24 years and they account for 70% of the 1 million people living with HIV. PrEP is a safe and effective intervention to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV. 

Georgia Equality’s Ending the Epidemic Fellow, Kheyanna Suarez, is composing a survey in an effort to gather information regarding thoughts, concerns, and barriers to youth accessing PrEP in the state of Georgia. The information will be used in the development of a toolkit that youth can access to educate themselves, understand the process of getting on PrEP, and navigate potential barriers they may face when trying to access PrEP. 

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August 20th has been established as Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (SHAAD), a day to bring direct attention to the South’s struggle with the HIV epidemic, as well as highlight the region’s unique set of cultural and systemic attributes. In 2019, SHAAD was launched as a two-day, in-person event held in Birmingham, Alabama, which continues to be its home base to this day.

SHAAD blossomed from the lively work of the Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC), SAC’s mission being: “to end the HIV and STI epidemics in the South by promoting accessible and high-quality systems of [HIV and STI] prevention, treatment, care, housing, and essential support services.” And in 2020,  just a year after its inception, the CDC recognized SHAAD as a national awareness day, its intention and purpose now being known around the country. 

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Since 2016, after a decade of decline, the number of people experiencing homelessness or housing instability has increased, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating factors attributing to the rise. COVID-19 has exposed existing systemic challenges in healthcare access and health outcomes and issues with housing, food insecurity, financial instability, and criminal justice.

Homelessness and housing instability have proven to lead to poorer health outcomes, this being more particularly true for people living with HIV (PLWH). PLWH who experience housing instability are less likely to receive appropriate health care, and they experience higher rates of opportunistic transmissions, such as Hepatitis-B and other comorbidities. Death rates caused by complications with HIV are much higher for those experiencing housing instability than for the general PLWH population.

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