CONTACT:
Emily Kumlien
(608) 265-8199
(608) 516-9154
ekumlien@uwhealth.org
MADISON, WI – The UW Health HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care program will honor the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day with an event featuring a renowned expert on HIV and health disparities in the black community.
Dr. David Malebranche, an HIV physician and associate professor at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, will be the guest speaker at the event, November 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at Brassworks, Goodman Community Center, 214 Waubesa St.
The first World AIDS Day was held in 1988. UW Health has sponsored a World AIDS Day event the past 15 years. This year theme is “We are all in this together.” The event will be a night filled with celebration, remembrance, conversation, food, and performance.
“One of the goals of this gathering is to remind people that they are not alone, and a person can live a long, healthy life with the support of the HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Program and the community,” said Dr. James Sosman, medical director of the UW Health HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Program. “It is important to note, however, that there are still new diagnoses in Wisconsin each year and HIV-related disparities and health inequities are factors.”
In 2017, 259 people were newly-diagnosed with HIV in Wisconsin. Of those new HIV diagnoses 61 percent were among racial/ethnic minorities, despite minorities making up just 17 percent of the state’s population.
UW Health’s HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Program has been providing care for people living with HIV since 1985. World AIDS Day is December 1. For more information, call (608) 890-1169.
