SISTERLOVE, INCORPORATED CELEBRATES NATIONAL HIV AGING AWARENESS DAY

(Atlanta, Georgia) – September 18, 2017 - As we reflect today on what it means to be part of an aging epidemic, living with and in our highest of hopes thriving with a chronic illness that has evolved and changed greatly since its emergence as a public health crisis in the early 1980s. From early misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS that largely excluded women”, SisterLove, Incorporated emerged to challenge this notion and demonstrate how race, class, and gender shape the disproportionate rate at which Black women acquire HIV. At SisterLove, we understand that women are full beings and HIV is yet one aspect of their lived experiences. For many aging with HIV, particularly African American women, their HIV diagnosis and treatment may compete with other leading chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Aging with HIV infection also presents special challenges for preventing other diseases because both age and HIV increase risk for cardiovascular disease, bone loss, and certain cancers. We support the increase of provider and patient education surrounding HIV and how it impacts the lives of older folks. In addition to education, recognizing how various social, economic, and environmental factors shape the health outcomes of Black women is paramount to understanding how factors such as prolonged physical and mental stress, lack of access to comprehensive healthcare, and services, can negatively impact the ability of Black women to live a long, fulfilled life. Despite the challenges, we are still here. With the development of newer and better anti-retroviral medications and treatments, PEP and PrEP, global HIV research studies including black women’s voices, concerns and presence at the table we will be the generation to identify a cure. By centering and uplifting the voices of women living with HIV, we will be the generation to end the epidemic. One of the ways we have sought to uplift women who have profoundly impacted their communities is through our annual 2020 Leading Women’s Gala and Training Institute. On Friday, October 20, 2017 SisterLove, Incorporated will honor our eighth class of women at the 8th Annual 2020 Leading Women’s Society Awards and Leadership Institute. This community-oriented honors ceremony celebrates our belief that leading women possess the rare hindsight and foresight to help eradicate the HIV/AIDS pandemic through their outstanding leadership and dedication. This red-carpet, gala affair, to be held in downtown Atlanta, gives these outstanding women the opportunity to be honored and to be in the spotlight for their leadership spanning twenty years, and gives the community a chance to learn more about HIV/AIDS and its specific effects on women of color. SisterLove celebrates those that are in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s—and beyond, the silver foxes that have fought to stay healthy, to stay adherent, to stay present while living with HIV. We salute you! For more information on HIV and Aging, visit resources available From the Center for Disease Control:

 HIV Among People Aged 50 and Over From the Department of Health and Human Services:

 Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents: HIV and the Older Patient From the National Institute on Aging:

 HIV, AIDS, and Older People