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San Francisco, CA. On Monday, August 1, 2011, San Francisco Department of Public Health officials publicly stated that the needs of Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) gay men will be addressed, with culturally specific programming, in its new HIV prevention plan. The plan, called the System of HIV Prevention, has elicited heavy criticism from communities not specifically included in its targets, most notably A&PIs, Native Americans, youth and women. "We are committed to working with Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center to ensure A&PI gay men will be covered," said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the HIV prevention section at SFDPH. "We won't leave A&PIs behind." Dr. Colfax was present at an HIV prevention town hall meeting held at the LGBT Center on August 1. The meeting, organized by HIV prevention providers in San Francisco, was open to the public and provided a forum to voice concerns about the City's new plan. Dr. Colfax response—an implied acknowledgment of the gap in coverage for A&PI gay men—came after several community members stressed the need for culturally and linguistically specific services for A&PIs. "We are impressed with SFDPH's willingness to listen to our concerns," said Lance Toma, executive director of A&PI Wellness Center. "We will continue to work with SFDPH to turn this promise into a reality." A&PI Wellness Center has been advocating with SFDPH and the City of San Francisco since March 2011 to make sure A&PIs are included in the plan. Due to a lack of financial support from SFDPH, the organization made plans to reduce and eliminate services for A&PI men and youth. "At this point, we aren't sure how much support we'll receive or what the impact will be on our programs," said Carlos Bermudez, director of health services at A&PI Wellness Center. "We're hopeful we will be able to keep our services intact." San Francisco seeks to eliminate new HIV infections in part by suppressing the overall "community viral load" through increased HIV prevention activities targeting prioritized populations in the gay community, as well as transgender women and intravenous drug users. SFDPH is targeting resources to develop culturally specific programs for African American and Latino gay men while A&PIs, Native Americans and youth are expected to access services for "all gay men." Community criticism has focused on the fact that the organizations tasked with serving "all gay men" have strong track records of working with Caucasians, African Americans and Latinos, but do not have the capacity to address the specific needs of other populations, such as A&PIs and Native Americans. At this time, SFDPH has issued no public statement indicating how they will address the culturally or linguistically specific needs of Native Americans, youth and women. "This is an important step forward for A&PIs but we have to focus on the bigger picture," says Toma. "SFDPH is responding to short-term, community outcry but we need to make sure our communities aren't left out every time new funding is allocated. SFDPH has agreed to work with us to develop a long-term action plan for the A&PI community." About Asian &
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is a health services, education, research and policy organization dedicated to educating, supporting, empowering and advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities--particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. With staff fluent in 20 languages, A&PI Wellness Center delivers programs regionally, statewide, and nationally, and collaborates with community-based organizations throughout the Asia Pacific Region. For press materials or more information please visit www.apiwellness.org. # # # |