HIV in Nashville
posted by Jeffrey on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 3:23 PM
Recently I've come upon some information about our Nashville community that is quite disturbing. Kevin Hartman, a PharmD (and owner?) of Nashville Pharmacy Services, estimates that there are 3,000 HIV positive patients in the greater Nashville area. Whoa, I had no idea! I sure am glad for people like Mr. Hartman and his pharmacy that provides FREE delivery and/or shipping of medications to all of his patients. I'm also glad for clinics like the Comprehensive Care Center which is, "A private, not-for-profit outpatient medical facility dedicated to advancing and coordinating care, research and treatment of people living with HIV infection...".
One of my friends asked Mr. Hartman a series of questions regarding why HIV meds were so expensive and what prevents countries in dire need, like those in Africa, from getting adequate amounts of them? The answer, though Mr. Hartman could only provide an educated (yet professional) guess, was simply a lack of money.
Wow, maybe my blogger bud and Social Justice junkie Sam Davidson can supply us with some info on a way to contribute or aid in such a need.
Tags: HIV, AIDS, Nashville Pharmacy Services, Comprehensive Care Center, Africa, Social Justice
1 Comments:
Great post and insight. Thanks for bringing this issue up.
Locally, Vanderbilt is working on an HIV vaccine and they need (paid!) volunteers. There are also lots of great nonprofits like Nashville Cares that do both service and advocacy/awareness.
I hate that lots of things come down to money, but I can't argue. This is why I admire the Gates Foundation so much. They realize the plight of AIDS and other disease victims in poor parts of the world like Africa and try to inspire people to dream of ways to help. And they have quite a bit of money.
Africa has sort of become a buzz word for suffering and humanitarian aid lately (thanks to celebrities), so chances are, most churches will have some sort of connection to a way to help over there. One of the biggest and most pressing needs right now in sub-Saharan Africa is that of orphanages. Untold scores of children have no parents due to AIDS, and many are infected themselves. Blood:Water:Mission is another local nonprofit that has a close connection with needs like these in Africa.
And, in closing, I'll add (shamelessly) that on August 1, Nashville will be getting a one-stop-shop website for local and global social justice and volunteering endeavors. CoolPeopleCare will be your place for both inspiration and action so that you can make a difference where you live and half a world away. Stay tuned.
July 22, 2006 3:47 PM
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