From Poz Magazine online (This post is by Rick Haverkate (enrolled with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), HIV Branch Chief for the Indian Health Service; and Tony Enos (Cherokee), U=U Ambassador Program Lead)…
As our Native relatives pause to recognize National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 20 — the first day of Spring — the Indian Health Service, to reduce stigma toward Native people living with HIV, announces a new program called the “U=U Ambassador Program.” The Prevention Access Campaign launched the U=U campaign in early 2016 to advance public awareness and perception of HIV. U=U means that if someone has an undetectable viral load, they cannot sexually transmit HIV to others. U=U is supported by numerous health groups and organizations worldwide, including the IHS. To help increase awareness of this vital “treatment as prevention” campaign and realizing that HIV rates are still climbing in Indian Country, IHS is recruiting American Indian and Alaska Native people with HIV (U=U Ambassadors) to share their stories and the message to people with HIV who take their HIV medicine and have an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV.
Each Ambassador is responsible for three U=U-related social media posts a month while simultaneously working with IHS to advise providers on better ways to integrate U=U into clinical and other practices, create more awareness about U=U, and bring us closer to our global goal of ending the HIV epidemic.