UH gets $5M to fight HIV/AIDS in South

The University of Houston has received $5 million to continue its work in combating challenges that contribute to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South.

Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences donated the money to the Graduate College of Social Work research center as a part of a $100 million collaborative initiative to reduce disparities in care for HIV/AIDS within a decade, according to a university release.

Nearly half of all HIV deaths and 51 percent of new diagnoses occur in the South, researchers say. Diagnoses among Black and Latino Americans also remain high, with Black people accounting for 43 percent of new HIV diagnoses despite only making up 13 percent of the country.

Meanwhile, Black- and Latinoled organizations are often underfunded, said Samira Ali, an assistant professor at UH who leads the university’s SUSTAIN Wellbeing COMPASS Coordinating Center.

The center has funded or provided training, coaching and assistance to 70 organizations to help Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ communities better deal with trauma, mental health issues and substance abuse associated with HIV and AIDS.

“Our approach is rooted in social and racial justice as well as the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV. We are driven by the voices of people living with HIV/AIDS,” Ali said.

UH’s SUSTAIN center has worked with advocates from vari

ous states. In its first three years, 78 percent of the organizations it funded were Black- or Latino-led, creating safe spaces for people of color to seek treatment.

“We are working to dismantle white supremacy culture and racial injustice, because until organizations address these systemic issues, they can’t effectively serve their clients,” Ali said. “They’re going to continue to not come back for treatment or continue to not get tested. That’s where we come in.”