“We need to use a ‘syndemic lens’ to end HIV”—huh??

HIV.gov has a weekly BLOG, complete with subtly racist condescension

I stumbled across the following YouTube video, which is a weekly audio report on the state of the HIV AIDS story in the U.S. There is also an associated blog. I won’t be reporting on this weekly, but I thought it would be interesting to highlight what is actually being promoted by our government, and paid for using our tax dollars, when it comes to the HIV AIDS story.

Apparently we are in the midst of a “syndemic,” which we called a “twindemic” during Covid when people were showing up with multiple respiratory afflictions, but this time it is “HIV” and syphilis, or maybe it’s HIV among transgender women—the video doesn’t make the distinction and I’m not entirely convinced they understand the meanings of some words that they use.

Also, this coming Wednesday, February 7, is National Black HIV AIDS Awareness Day, or NBHAAD (!!!), which I didn’t know was a thing, and isn’t condescending or racist at all. Here is the information about that day of celebration, for which the theme is “Engage, Educate, Empower:”

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Resources

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is Wednesday, February 7. This year’s observance is an opportunity to increase awareness and spark conversations about HIV. This year’s theme is "Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities".

• Engage: Discussing ways to better involve the Black community in HIV prevention and treatment efforts. This can include outreach programs, community partnerships, and partnering with local leaders and influencers to promote HIV testing and destigmatize the conversation around HIV/AIDS.

• Educate: Focusing on improving HIV/AIDS education among Black youth and adults. This could cover the latest research, treatment options, understanding of PrEP and PEP medications, and debunking myths that contribute to stigma and discrimination.

• Empower: Highlighting success stories and strategies that have effectively empowered Black individuals living with HIV. Empowerment can be through advocacy, policy change, access to care, and support systems.

“Educate, Engage, Empower?” This is such blatant condescension. Note that PrEP figures prominently. It amazes me how little the messaging has changed over the years; the only difference is that we’re pushing PrEP now instead of condoms, which seems especially foolhardy in light of the apparently emerging syphilis epidemic, as discussed in the following blog, referenced in the video:

CDC’s 2022 STI Surveillance Report Released: Dear Partners Letter

According to the letter:

According to the report, syphilis cases (all stages and congenital syphilis) have increased 80 percent in the past five years. More than 3,700 congenital syphilis cases were reported in 2022, reflecting an alarming 937 percent increase in the past decade.

Now, I understand that syphilis remains a highly controversial diagnosis, especially so-called secondary and tertiary syphilis (which *I personally* don’t think are actually syphilis at all, but that is a topic for another day); so please don’t come at me in the comments saying syphilis isn’t real—that is not my point here, and I am not addressing that issue now. My point is that the same public health experts that are pushing chemotherapeutic multidrug PrEP medications into the body of anyone that’s even worried, yet that are not advocating for the far less dangerous practice of condom use, are also wringing their hands over the increasing incidence of traditional STIs. They just contradict themselves all the time. Moving on to the last item touched on in the video, “HIV disparities among transgender women,” I will note that the language they use is so tortured. I have to wonder if that’s done on purpose to cause confusion.

Syndemic Approach Needed to Address HIV Disparities among Transgender Women

It’s not even clear to what “syndemic” this particular article is referring, as no other “disease state” was mentioned, nor do they have any clear suggestions as to what the “syndemic approach” ought to be. The definition of “syndemic” is, according to Wikipedia, “the aggregation of two or more concurrent or sequential epidemics or disease clusters in a population with biological interactions, which exacerbate the prognosis and burden of disease.” The only item of note in the HIV. gov blog is the following:

A new Executive PerspectiveExit Disclaimer in Public Health Reports discusses the importance of using a syndemic lens in our efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United States, particularly among disproportionately affected populations such as transgender women.

[…]

The commentary reflects on detailed insights from the first-ever National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women (NHBS-Trans) project recently published by CDC in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) supplement. NHBS-Trans conducted HIV-related biobehavioral surveillance to monitor behavioral risk factors, HIV testing behaviors, receipt of prevention services, use of prevention strategies, and HIV prevalence in 2019-2020 among 1,608 transgender women in seven urban areas in the United States.

To strengthen efforts aimed at eliminating HIV disparities among transgender women, Deputy Assistant Secretary Hayes and Mr. Shanker call for a syndemic approach that addresses substance use, mental health, and STIs as well as social determinants of health since these are all key factors driving HIV risk and outcomes.

So is the “syndemic” “HIV” and other STIs? “HIV” and drugs? “HIV” and mental health struggles? I guess they mean “look at factors other than HIV,” which sounds good I guess, but I have to wonder: Do they even know what the words they use mean?

Well, that’s enough nonsense for one day, but I thought it would be illuminating to point out the absolute garbage being paid for and promoted thanks in part to our tax dollars. I’ll be back with something way less nonsensical later this week.

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If you’re a new reader and would like some background as to my views on HIV AIDS, including the “existence” question, please refer to this post and the links contained therein.