The National Female Condom Coalition and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. are launching an effort on World AIDS Day, Saturday, Dec. 1, to help change the course of HIV/AIDS and help black women, who account for approximately 90 percent of all new HIV infections in the District, take charge of their health.
Nationally, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women and medical experts believe proper use of the female condom will give women greater control of their sexual health.
Dr. Jamila Perritt, medical director at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC, said the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, will be a significant tool in the campaign.
“The role that the Affordable Care Act is going to play in preventive care is huge,” Perritt told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “It will provide for routine HIV screenings for people ages 16-65. People think they can figure out who’s at risk and it just doesn’t work like that.”
In addition to routine screenings, Perritt said the female condom, when used correctly, is key to preventing the spread of HIV and costs no more than high-end male condoms.
“The female condom is a way for a woman to take charge of her health,” Perritt said.
Sabrina Heard, a community health worker for the Women’s Collective in D.C., helps women who are HIV positive get back into care, if they have stopped treatment for any reason, and serves as an advocate in the health care system for women and encourages women to protect themselves.
“As a community health worker, I am engaging clients from the time that they, some of them, are diagnosed. I walk them through the process and get them into the health care system, get them to understand that they need to form a relationship with their doctor,” Heard said.
Heard said much of her job consists of helping people address the stigma, self-imposed as well as from the outside, that many people feel once they are diagnosed with HIV.
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article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com
