AHF Speak Out

AIDS Healthcare Foundation fights for what's right. Whether we are championing more effective AIDS policies or spearheading campaigns aimed at lowering drug prices, our community is a powerful group of global advocates committed to taking on the most urgent issues in the AIDS fight today. Check out what AHF’s community is up to & show your support where possible.

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Show your #LOVE today on our official LOVE CAM! Tag your pics w our hashtag #LoveCondoms! >> http://t.co/IegLPVvXTH pic.twitter.com/ESeoSiyKPM

— AIDS Healthcare (@AIDSHealthcare)

February 14, 2014

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#SecKerry restore PEPFAR from deadly cuts, demand big increase in #budget from #WhiteHouse to #endAIDS http://thndr.it/1f7zVot

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I just supported Don't Pull Back on Fighting AIDS on @ThunderclapIt // @FightGlobalAIDS

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Yes on D's new music video shows how the rising costs of prescription drugs hurts all San Franciscans. Vote Yes on D! http://thndr.it/18q4LFL

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The United States government spends only about 50 cents per person fighting STDs. Sex education in schools is heavily censored. Condoms are not advertised widely, are not readily available and cost too much. Friends don't talk to each other about sexual health. Doctors don't take sexual histories. Therefore, many STDs go undiagnosed and untreated. There are also a huge number of unwanted pregnancies and teen parents in our country.

Our society treats STDs as if they are a price to pay for our sinful sexual behavior. Most of us feel guilty for our sexual desires and therefore think that when we get an STD, we are getting what we deserve. People understand that judgment is deadly when it comes to fighting STDs. Only by bringing the subject out into the open is there any hope of curbing the epidemic.

The next sexual revolution has begun -- it is the battle for sexual health. We have a right to a sexual life that is as free from disease as it possibly can be. We know that the more sexual partners we have, the more risk we are taking -- that is a fact.

We know that STDs will never disappear. However, society should take the business of making sex safe as seriously as it does fighting the flu. A concerted effort to reduce STDs would definitely succeed. Public health practices are tried-and-true -- if we use them.

A combination of condom promotion and distribution, quality sex education, excellent routine screening systems, education for medical providers, and other measures would be relatively easy and cheap, and would bring excellent results. The only question that remains is: can we control the small radical minority that against healthy sexuality? We can if the majority speak out and demand a change. It's up to you. Visit our Join Us page to become part of the new Sexual Revolution.

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President Barack Obama is set to go down in history as the first United States President to cut the U.S. Commitment to fighting AIDS.

President Obama's funding cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief immediately resulted in closures to well-established HIV/AIDS medical clinics in South Africa – the country hardest hit by HIV & AIDS – leaving thousands of South African's without treatment or medication. The proposed 2013 U.S. Budget cuts $220 million in funding to fight global AIDS, equating a loss of care for 640,000 people living with the disease for one year! The Obama administration has projected a 79% cut in global AIDS funding for hard-hit Ethiopia as well.

Domestically, proposed cuts to the Ryan White Care ACT will leave 8000 people across the United States without medication which could result in reduced health and even death.

Take a stand against the President's contradictory actions to achieve "an AIDS-free generation!" Sign our Change.org petition demanding that President Obama keep the promise on AIDS & reblog >> http://chn.ge/12jw2b3

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Spotlight: AHF Donors & Volunteers

Thank you Pat, Alex, Val & Michael!

  Music & Magazines

Voice Students Donate Magazines to AHF Clinics

  Pat Whiteman, owner of Pat Whiteman Voice Studio in Studio City got an idea one day that she hoped would have more than just her students singing a happy tune. It came to her when she was reading the results of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) annual survey. “I’ve been a long-time freelancer and advocate of AHF and I get to read the foundation’s annual patient survey. As part of the survey, I see suggestions patients make about improving AHF services. One suggestion was how they wished they had magazines to read in the waiting rooms while waiting for their appointment.”

AHF being a non-profit and always looking to reduce costs, magazine subscriptions for its healthcare centers in the Los Angeles area were an undue expense.

Whiteman always seemed to have an already read and unwanted pile of magazines in her own home and figured others might have the same. So she decided to enlist her voice students to help out. “I sent an email to my students and asked them to bring used magazines they might have to their next lesson. Before I knew it, I had over 50 magazines.” Whiteman was especially delighted with the variety. “My students are all age levels and come from all walks of life and that reflects in the magazines they read – InStyle, GQ, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, Billboard, National Geographic – there’s something for everyone.”

Once she has accumulated too many magazines to handle, Whiteman sends an email to Rosalia Barbosa, office administrator for AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Valley Clinic in Sherman Oaks. “I just stop by Pat’s, take my little wheeled cart and pick up the magazines,” says Barbosa. “It’s easy, close and convenient and the patients are so appreciative. I can’t thank Pat and her students enough for doing this.”

Whiteman, who has taught vocal technique and performance in Los Angeles for the past eight years, hopes to increase the magazine collection even further by involving her singing and performer friends. “Everyone has a pile of magazines at home they’re looking to throw out or get rid of. It would be great to see if we can help supply more AHF clinics. It helps so many different folks in the process – the donors get rid of the magazines and clutter, the magazines get reused and seen by more people, AHF saves money and the clients have something to read. It’s really a win-win for everyone.”

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Taking place in Brooklyn, New York at Cadman Plaza Park on Saturday, April 6, 2013, join us as we rally and march to keep the promise on AIDS. Join community and religious leaders such as Reverend Al Sharpton and MTV's Sway Calloway, Grammy-winning rapper Bridget Kelly and Grammy-winning violinist Miri Ben Ari, rapper Cassidy, advocates and activists from across the country, and hundreds of others raising up to let government leaders know the war on HIV & AIDS has not been won.

For more information, click "Going" on the Facebook page here >> http://on.fb.me/Xta8kV

To stay up to date with Keep the Promise, you can visit: www.keepthepromiseonaids.org

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We're proud to premiere our documentary, "Keep the Promise: The Global FIght Against AIDS" Friday March 29, 2013 at the 2013 Vail Film Festival in Vail, Colorado.

Narrated by Margaret Cho, "Keep The Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS" is a music/protest documentary that profiles advocates from around the world who attended the "Keep The Promise Rally & March," that unfolded in Washington, DC during July 2012 as part of AIDS Healthcare Foundation's lively presence at the 19th International AIDS Conference. A dynamic stage show, rally, and protest march punctuate powerful personal stories of people from all walks of life who have been impacted and affected by HIV/AIDS and have decided to continue the global fight to end the AIDS Crisis. Directed & produced by Jörg Fockele & Marc Smolowitz from The HIV Story Project. Executive Produced by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. World Premiere, 2013 Vail Film Festival http://www.keepthepromiseonaids.org

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Condom Nation is at the 2013 Florida AIDS Walk giving away millions of condoms. @aidshealthcare (at Ft. Lauderdale Beach park)

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Condom Nation protecting the Fort Meyers Police Department. Thank you for your support. #condoms #hiv #aids #wrapitup (at 7-Eleven)

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Condom Nation is at 2972 Dr Martin Luther King Blvd. in Fort Myers FL giving away free #condoms and free #one #minute HIV TEST. (at 7-Eleven)

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Condom Nation is at USF today giving away #condoms and providing free HIV testing. (at World of Beer)

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We just pulled into Phoenix, AZ working our way to Pensacola, FL. Tomorrow Dallas TX. #condoms #aids #hiv #wrapitup #condomnation #aidshealth (at IHOP)

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Condom Nation Crew leaves Los Angeles today and is heading straight to Pensacola Florida with 50 million #free condoms to give away this year. #Condoms #HIV #Aids #Aidshealth.

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Condom Nation getting ready for our 2013 tour. We just loaded 4,989,600 condoms onto the truck. #condoms #hiv #aidshealth

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We are proud to have created a funny parody video of musician Macklemore's popular song "Thrift Shop" – which was #1 on the Billboard charts for 7 weeks running. Full of fun celebrity–cameos (such as NCIS' Pauley Perrette, Dreamgirls' Anika Noni Rose, "Mini-Me" Verne Troyer, Vampire Diaries' Kat Graham, and Make it or Break It's Josie Loren to name a few), AHF's version promotes condom use, HIV testing & thrift shopping for a cause! 96 cents of every dollar earned at Out of the Closet Thrift Stores (in the U.S. and Amsterdam) fund our global efforts to provide HIV/AIDS treatment & prevention. You can also enter to win a $500 shopping spree at your favorite Out of the Closet Thrift Store! Learn more by clicking here! >> http://bit.ly/14bckg4

Support the cause & reblog the video!