For this World AIDS Day meeting, we focused our discussion on the health and wellness of San Francisco’s Black/African-American communities. Dr. Hyman Scott shared an overview of the latest HIV epidemiology data, which was followed by a presentation on the Umoja Health Access Point and Rafiki Coalition For Health & Wellness by Dr. Demisha Burns.

Dr. Vince Fuqua and Dr. Scott led a robust discussion with a distinguished panel of guests, which included Nikole Trainor (SF Dept. of Public Health), Kyriell Noon (Hamilton Families), Ebony Gordon (SF AIDS Foundation), and Dr. Burns.

Below are key issues and recommendations offered during the discussion:

• Prioritize self-care and community care to sustain the resilience and collective action needed to address health disparities. The panelists stressed the importance of the community taking care of themselves first, in order to, then support others.
• Strengthen partnerships and coordination between organizations serving the black and African American communities. The panelists emphasized the need for a more centralized, collaborative approach to create safe spaces and leverage collective resources.
• Tap into historical lessons and the DNA of mutual aid that has sustained black communities through past challenges. The panelists encouraged drawing on the community’s rich history of self-organization and collective care.
• Identify and empower social media influencers and community leaders who are already embedded in the black and African American communities, especially youth. Rather than the department trying to directly reach these communities, elevate the voices and platforms of trusted community members.
• Invest in training and support to help overcome generational gaps in technology use and comfort. Provide resources to help community members, especially elders, feel more confident and capable in using digital tools.
• Hold political leaders and city officials accountable to their promises, especially around maintaining sanctuary city status and protecting funding for critical services. The panelists urged the community to be vigilant and not allow backsliding on these commitments.
• There is a tendency for government agencies and larger institutions to come into communities with pre-determined solutions, rather than truly listening and responding to the community’s self-identified needs and priorities.

Here is a link to the slides presented at the meeting. If you have any additional feedback, please let us know.