Panel Discussion: Half The World Deserves a Whole Voice

Innovative Approaches to HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Women

DATE: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

PLACE: Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial,

Educational and Cultural Center

3940 Broadway (between W.165th St. and W. 166th St)

New York, NY 10032

Directions: Take the ?A?, ?C? or ?1? train to 168th Street and Broadway and walk to 165th Street. We are across the street from New York Presbyterian Hospital.)

TIME: Registration 6:00- 6:30 PM

Program and Q & A 6:30- 8:30 PM

PANELISTS: Jennifer Medina-Matsuki, MPH, CHES? Director of Programs, Cable Positive

Dr. Zena Stein ? Professor of Public Health, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health and Co-Director of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies

Gabriela Alvarez ? Program Specialist, Latin America and the Caribbean Section, UNIFEM

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will host a panel discussion on HIV prevention initiatives in the media, advances and innovation in clinical trials and UNIFEM's programs in the developing world. The discussion will be held at The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational and Cultural Center (The Shabazz Center) on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, at 6:30 pm. Panelists will include: Jennifer Medina-Matsuki, MPH, CHES? Director of Programs, Cable Positive; Dr. Zena Stein ? Professor of Public Health, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health and Co-Director of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies; Gabriela Alvarez ? Program Specialist, Latin America and the Caribbean Section. Registration will begin at 6:00 pm.

According to UNIFEM, Women are more vulnerable to exposure to HIV/AIDS and are disproportionately affected by it. The United Nations estimates that, worldwide, over 15.5 million women are living with the virus. Over 60 percent of the 15 to 24-year-olds living with HIV are women. Therefore, social changes and medical innovations in HIV prevention are critical to reducing infection rates among women and girls.

"This World AIDS Day event speaks to the causes that Dr. Betty Shabazz, a health professional, activist, and institution builder, felt passionately about. She traveled the world to fight for the right of women and children to have access to a better quality of life; working throughout her career so that we might better govern all aspects of our lives. HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among women, we account for more than 25 percent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnosis. The numbers are higher among women of color. Women of African descent and Latinas still account for 81percent of all women living with HIV/AIDS. As the Shabazz Center is located in a changing and increasingly diverse community, we urge our sisters of all nations, but especially those long-term residents of Harlem/Washington Heights, to attend this event, and more importantly, to take advantage of the free, private HIV/AIDS screening that will be available at the on-site mobile medical units working with UNIFEM,? states Dowoti Désir, Executive Director of The Shabazz Center.

The Shabazz Center is located at 3940 Broadway (between W.165th St. and W. 166th St) in Harlem, NY.

Media Contact: Dowoti Désir

Telephone: (212) 568-1341

Email: admin@theshabazzcenter.net

The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial,

Educational and Cultural Center

3940 Broadway

New York, NY 10032