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HIV, health and your community

Hesperian is currently developing a new edition of HIV, health and your community to incorporate expanded treatment options and holistic care.

HIV, health and your community was originally authored in 1999 by Reuben Granich, M.D., M.P.H. and Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., who modeled it on Hesperian Foundation's health publications and published it through Stanford University Press. The authors subsequently arranged for the Hesperian Foundation to take over its distribution rights to better facilitate its dissemination to poor communities around the world. The first edition of HIV, health and your community has been widely adopted both by major non-governmental organizations and grassroots health workers worldwide.

While our readers often tell us how HIV, health and your community fills a vital gap in the HIV information that is normally available to them, we also recognize a strong need to revise and expand the manual to respond to changes in the epidemic and possibilities for treatment since it was written. Specifically, this includes:

• Expanding information on palliative and home-based care, specifically including information on clean water, nutrition and hygiene that is often critical for people with compromised immune systems but rarely covered in HIV/AIDS materials
• Explaining the latest advances in drug treatment and prevention therapies, including information on what individuals and communities need to understand and consider (e.g., in terms of sustainability) before beginning treatment regimens
• Including more gender-specific information to address the increasing impact of the epidemic on women and girls
• Adding information about efforts to address the needs of children affected by the epidemic
• Strengthening the book as a resource for its primary audience by simplifying the language and reorganizing the material

Beyond simply adding and updating information with regard to the specific points above, we have found — through our consultation with advisors and with grassroots partners — a significant need for material that better integrates issues of palliative care and wellness for those living with HIV/AIDS, with issues surrounding anti-retroviral treatment and treatment of secondary infections. We'd also like to better address the relationship between prevention efforts and this spectrum of treatment and care.

Related Materials

• Material from the earlier edition of this book is now available in the Free Downloads section of this site.

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We depend on the support of people like you, who share our vision of a healthier and more just world. Your gift will enable this book to be developed and distributed to communities around the world that otherwise could not afford it. Your actions make a difference. Please give online or call Leah Uberseder, Development Associate at (510) 845-1447 to make a donation over the phone.