HIV Stigma Initiative

In July 2008, African Services proudly launched Love and Let Live, a new multilingual public awareness campaign that promotes the importance of HIV testing and caring for those who are living with HIV.  Billboards will appear across Harlem until December 2008.

The campaign is part of African Services' HIV Stigma Initiative, a multi-year project that aims to improve health in the African immigrant community of New York City through outreach and communication that fosters dialogue, challenges stigma, and promotes understanding and compassion in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

This project is funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and continues the work begun by African Services in 2003 with funding from the Ford Foundation. Activities have included a health education and public awareness campaigns; community conversations with faith leaders; a partnership with oral history project StoryCorps; and peer-led advocacy and leadership training for immigrant PWAs; and original quantitative and qualitative research on HIV stigma in the African community in New York City.

For nearly 15 years, African Services has provided HIV testing, access to treatment, care and support to immigrant New Yorkers. And while effective treatment has dramatically changed the fight against AIDS, stigma and discrimination against those living with the virus remains. African Services is committed to challenging stigma and discrimination at all levels and supporting individuals, families and communities most impacted by the global AIDS epidemic. Combined with life-saving treatment, this care and support has transformed thousands of lives.

For more information about Love and Let Live, organizing an HIV testing event or hosting a community conversation on how HIV impacts immigrants, contact: Catharine Bufalino, Communications Director, at (212) 222-3882 x. 146.