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U.S. Business Action to End HIV: August 2023 Action Report
Updates from the NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference, the CDC’s Together TakeMeHome HIV Self-Test Program, and more
As we head into the last few weeks of summer, we're excited to share updates on the work of the Coalition and our members.
Action from the Coalition
Welcome New Coalition Member! The Apothecary Shoppe
Leadership in Action at NGLCC Conference - This week the Coalition was at the annual NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Denver. We hosted a breakout session - Ending HIV in the U.S.: Actions Your Company Can Take - followed by a Changemakers Reception. Many thanks to our partner and host, NGLCC, and our members who joined us as panelists - Will Cunningham from Match Group and Stephanie Aguilar from Paramount Pictures. We look forward to following-up on the many new connections we made!
Join Us at U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (Sept 8, Washington D.C.) - Will you be attending USCHA next month? If so, we hope you will join us and Coalition member Avalere as we co-host a breakfast reception on Friday morning, Sept 8, from 8-9:30am before conference sessions begin. It will be a great opportunity to connect with fellow members, HIV Leadership Advisory Council members, and friends. Invitation and more details to come!
Atlanta HIV Business Coalition Launching in October - We are excited to be working with Mercer, together with HIV experts and community advisors, as we develop our first localized business coalition in Atlanta. We are working toward a kick-off event on Thursday, October 26, and will be reaching out to coalition members who have a footprint in the region to get more involved.
Let’s Connect on LinkedIn - We’ve created a private group on LinkedIn for U.S. Business Action to End HIV members. We hope this will be a place to connect, share great work, and opportunities for action. Mario and Caroline will be connecting with members on LinkedIn and inviting you to join. We hope you meet us over there and jump into the conversation!
Action from Members
Ada Health Nominated for #SXSW2024 Panel - Coalition member Ada Health is proud to be a part of a #SXSW2024 panel proposal alongside the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Excision BioTherapeutics and activist and journalist Emil Wilbekin to reflect together on progress made combating HIV and the gaps that remain. Help Ada secure their panel by voting for their session here!
Community Pharmacy Industry Action Cohort Advances Forward - Avita Care Solutions, CVS Health, Walgreens, and Walmart, who all participated in the convening of pharmacy leaders to explore an expanded role pharmacies can play in HIV prevention and care, continue to work together to advance a collaborative action plan developed out of the June 7 meeting. It's exciting to see the Coalition’s first Industry Action Cohort in action, realizing the power of an industry working together to accelerate progress toward ending HIV.
Senate Appropriators Maintain Funding for Domestic HIV Programs - After the drastic cuts to federal HIV programs proposed by the House Appropriations Subcommittee last month, there was hopeful news from the Senate this month when they voted to maintain, and in some instances, increase funding for domestic HIV prevention and treatment programs. The House and Senate are now in recess until September, when they will return to continue the process of enacting funding bills or a continuing resolution before September 30th.
Update on CDC’s Together TakeMeHome HIV Self-Test Program - Great news! Together TakeMeHome has secured additional funding and is able to continue offering two free HIV self-tests to U.S. residents ages 17 and older every three months. Companies are welcome to share Together TakeMeHome with your employees, with the goal of reaching populations with disproportionately high HIV incidence, including gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, Black women, and transgender women of all races and ethnicities. You can download and share resources from CDC’s Together campaign. Together TakeMeHome is supported by CDC, in partnership with Emory University, Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC), NASTAD, Signal Group, and coalition member OraSure Technologies.
Action Spotlight
This month we are pleased to introduce you to another member of our HIV Leadership Advisory Council:
Bishar Jenkins Policy Manager for Community Mobilization and Health Equity, AIDS United
Bishar Jenkins Jr., MPP (he/his/him) is a Black and Queer health equity practitioner with multi-sectoral experience. Bishar earned a BA in Political Science from Rutgers University and a MPP from Brandeis University. Bishar is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Yale University.
Bishar’s foray into public health began with a summer fellowship at AIDS United, where he outlined recommendations for how to infuse racial and gender justice frameworks into the organization’s grantmaking initiatives. In the intervening years, Bishar served as a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Health Fellow and health policy staffer in the office of Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), and as a fellow at the CDC's Division of HIV Prevention.
In his capacity as Policy Manager at AIDS United, Bishar oversaw and coordinated the launch of AIDS United's Racial Justice Index, which is the first nationwide survey of the HIV workforce on racial justice and Blackness.
Bishar is especially passionate about HIV prevention for Black and Queer youth. It is his calling to share love and support with other Black and Queer young people, so they know unequivocally that their lives matter too.
Bishar is a self-described “Jersey boy” and proudly hails from New Jersey’s capital city, Trenton.
How do you hope to see U.S. Business Action to End HIV and coalition members contributing toward ending HIV in the U.S.?
The U.S. Business Action to End HIV is uniquely positioned to leverage their resources to invest in communities most impacted by HIV. Further, Coalition member investments can support building an emerging leaders’ cohort of individuals who are interested in HIV advocacy and would benefit from a convener like the Coalition providing tangible opportunities for professional development. This would help ensure we have a robust cohort of committed advocates who can pick up the baton from HIV advocacy champions.
Why have you personally decided to dedicate yourself to working on HIV?
That we have not yet ended the HIV epidemic reflects poorly on our nation’s ambivalence toward people who are especially marginalized, especially Black and LGBTQ+ people. My personal commitment to end HIV began with my own diagnosis almost seven years ago. Over the years, my personal commitment has metamorphosized into communal organizing to end the epidemic and all the intersecting pandemics that limit Black and LGBTQ+ people’s ability to live and thrive. My commitment is rooted in the idea that we can create new systems that center the quality of life and the holistic wellbeing of Black and LGBTQ+ people most vulnerable to HIV.
November 30 - Mark your calendars for an in-person event in Washington D.C. celebrating the first year of coalition impact and looking ahead to year two!
Thank you for your commitment and leadership. Let's keep up the momentum!
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