Nichelle Mitchem

International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2011

In December of 2010, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act. This piece of legislation was sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the bill aimed to protect women and girls in developing countries from entering into child marriages. If the bill had passed, it would have required that the Department of State implement a multi-year plan to prevent child marriages in developing nations and promote the educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women. The act was not passed in the House.

UNICEF reports that over 60 percent of women were married prior to their 18th birthday in Sub-Saharan African and Bangladesh. Furthermore, the maternal mortality rate is five times higher for women under 16 years of age than those between 20 and 24. When discussing this piece of legislation Senator Durbin stated, “Tens of millions of women and girls around the world have lost their dignity, independence and lives due to child marriage. Child marriage denies these women and girls of an education, economic independence and is the root cause of many of the world’s most pressing development issues – HIV/ AIDS, child mortality, and abject poverty.”

In February of 2011, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (S.414). As of February 28, 2011, the cosponsors for this piece of legislation were as follows: Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA); Senator Scott Brown (R-MA); Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD); and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). In the continuing months since the legislation was introduced more members of the Senate have decided to cosponsor this piece of legislation.

The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2011 seeks to “…reduce maternal and child mortality, reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS [and] prevent gender-based violence. The bill requires the President to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage and authorizes the President to implement a variety of foreign assistance programs directed at the needs of girls including “access to water and suitable hygiene facilities . . . [and] access to health care services and proper nutrition for adolescent girls.” The bill authorizes “such sums as necessary.”

Sources: The Library of Congress. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s US Global Policy Tracker. UNICEF. Senator Dick Durbin’s website.

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NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY

 

March 10th is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI) as National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Fortunately, HIV/AIDS is preventable. Nevertheless, each year, HIV/AIDS continues to destroy countless lives. HIV/AIDS takes the greatest toll among African-Americans, Latinos and MSM of all races. The rate of new infections among blacks is seven times the rate among whites. Among Hispanics, the rate of new HIV infections is three times as high as that among whites. And according to a recent CDC analysis, the HIV diagnosis rate among MSM is forty-four (44) times that of other men.

One out of four HIV cases in our nation are among women and girls, thirteen years of age and older; and two out of three of these women and girls are African-American. Given these grim statistics, this pressing public health issue challenges each of us to be “our sisters’ keepers.” This year, starting on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, you can choose to make a difference in the lives of others. Toward that end, take action in the fight against HIV and raise awareness of its impact on women and girls. Get tested. Encourage every female within your sphere of influence to be tested for HIV/AIDS. Additionally, you can plan or support HIV prevention efforts in your community.

With an equal amount of conscience, mind, heart, and collective action, each of us can educate members of our community about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the importance of knowing your HIV status. For further information about HIV/AIDS, visit the Centers for Disease Control’s website at www.cdc.gov.

Source(s): Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2009.; Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI)

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2011 National HIV Prevention Conference

Date: Sunday, August 14, 2011 – Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Venue: Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the Marriott Marquis Hotels

The conference organizers are committed to ensuring that this conference contributes to achieving the three primary goals defined in the plan:

• Reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV;
• Increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV; and
• Reducing HIV-related health disparities. –2011 NHPC

Website: http://www.2011nhpc.org/home.asp

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National African American […] Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS and Other Health Disparities

LIFE FOREWARD, NEXT GENERATION

Venue: Brooklyn, NY

Date: January 20-21, 2011

Speaker:  Rev. Al Sharpton as the Speaker

Website: http://www.naesm.org/2011-Conference.html

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Nichelle Mitchem Shares Information About National African American […] Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS and Other Health Disparities

LIFE FOREWARD, NEXT GENERATION

Venue: Brooklyn, NY

Date: January 20-21, 2011

Speaker:  Rev. Al Sharpton as the Speaker

Website: http://www.naesm.org/2011-Conference.html

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Global Health Council - AIDS and Treatment in the United States

Global Health Council - AIDS and Treatment in the United States.

The 10th International Conference

Venue: The Santa Fe Convention Centre; Sante Fe, New Mexico, USA

Date: September 12  - 15, 2011

According to the 10^th International Conference website, “the Martin Fishbein Commemorative Symposium will precede the Opening of AIDSImpact on the first day of the Conference. This day session will be devoted to the memory of Professor Martin Fishbein, who passed away unexpectedly last year. [Professor Fishbein] was a long-term member of the AIDSImpact International Board and [a] strong advocate [of the organization of] the first USA-based AIDSImpact Conference in Santa Fe. Registration for AIDSImpact includes complimentary attendance at this event. “

Website: http://www.aidsimpact.com/2011/

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2011 United States Conference on AIDS

Date: November 10-13, 2011

Venue: Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Location: Chicago, IL

Contact: conferences@nmac.org or (202) 483-NMAC (6622)

URL: http://www.nmac.org/index/2011-usca

“The United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), set for November 10-13, 2011, at Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, in Chicago, IL, is an event you cannot afford to miss. For nearly two decades, USCA has sought ‘to increase the strength and diversity of the community-based response to the AIDS epidemic through education, training, new partnerships, collaboration and networking.’

It is the largest AIDS-related gathering in the U.S., bringing together over 3,000 workers from all fronts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic—from case managers and physicians, to public health workers and advocates, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/As) to policymakers—to build national support networks, exchange the latest information and learn cutting-edge tools to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS. We hope you will be one of them.” –Paul A. Kawata, The Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council

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Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2011, Boston, USA

Date: February 27, 2011 – March 2, 2011

To keep the conference conducive to formal and informal scientific exchange, registration is limited to researchers actively participating as investigators in basic science or clinical studies of retroviral diseases and their complications and clinician-teachers (full-time academic faculty members responsible for HIV/AIDS training and research programs). Ninety percent of the meeting—including abstracts, posters, and Web casts of oral sessions- will be available online.

Website: www.retroconference.org.

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Send Congress A Message About Child Marriage

Help end customary harmful practices such as forced child marriage which violates the rights of children and women. Child marriage denies girls and women’s access to education. The Senate unanimously passed the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act late last night, a bill to protect women and girls in developing countries from child marriages.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that “60 million girls in developing countries now ages 20 to 24 were married under the age of 18.”  The Population Council estimates that “the number will increase by 100 million over the next decade if current trends continue.”

Ask the House of Representatives to pass the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act now. Time is running out. Please tell the House of Representatives that the cost of child marriage it too high to ignore and they must act now. Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art