Lake County mobile clinic to offer free HIV testing in Hammond Friday
The testing will be offered Friday as part of National HIV Testing Day, which has been a day of observance for the last 30 years.
The Lake County Mobile Clinic will be in the Walgreens Parking lot, 6905 Kennedy Ave., Hammond, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends anyone between the ages 13 to 64 be tested for HIV at least once. Those with certain risk factors should be tested more frequently, according to a press release from the Lake County Health Department.
Early detection and care are crucial for managing HIV, according to the release, and testing remains one of the most effective protocols to end the HIV epidemic.
'HIV testing is an act of self-love. It is a powerful expression of self-respect, compassion, and care, not only for oneself, but for our community. Knowing your HIV status is a key step in protecting your health and the health of others,' according to the release.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
37 minutes ago
- News24
After US funding cuts, Mozambican children died: Who bears responsibility?
After the US Agency for International Development (USAID) abruptly terminated billions of dollars' worth of overseas aid grants, the health system in central Mozambique was left in tatters. Earlier this year, I travelled to two badly hit provinces of the country to describe the toll. In one article, I reported how thousands of orphaned and vulnerable children in Sofala province had been abandoned by their USAID-funded case workers. Many of these children are HIV-positive and had relied on case workers to bring them their medicines or accompany them to hospitals. Without them, some children stopped taking their treatment and died. In a second piece, I reported how USAID had cut funding for contractors transporting medicines and diagnostic tests to health facilities in Manica province. This led to shortages of HIV drugs at hospitals in the area, which also led to the deaths of children. In the midst of all this chaos, I was often curious to know from people on the ground who they held accountable for this situation and who they believed needed to solve the problem. My assumption was that they would call for the Mozambican government to help them out. I was surprised to find that in the affected villages which I visited, this was far from anyone's expectation. In fact, for most it was simply unthinkable that their government could do anything to save them. 'You mentioned the government,' one community leader said after I asked whether the state should intervene. 'But even these chairs we're sitting on are stamped with USAID logos. So what help can we expect from the government?' Indeed, the more I learned about governance in Mozambique, the more understandable this attitude became. Throughout the country, core government functions have been outsourced to a combination of foreign governments, aid agencies, interstate bodies, and private companies. For instance, many of the country's essential medicines are procured by a large international financing body called the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Up until January, the transportation of these medicines to hospitals was overwhelmingly financed by US aid agencies, as were the pay cheques of many health workers. Outside of the healthcare sector, the story is similar. The main highway that I travelled along to reach different villages was built and paid for by Chinese corporations and banks. To keep hydrated I relied on bottled water supplied by private companies since the taps either didn't run or produced contaminated water. In many of the impoverished rural settlements that I visited, there was virtually no state infrastructure, and people received no financial support from the government. Instead, they primarily depended on aid organisations. The country's national budget has historically been heavily supplemented by foreign bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union. (Though much of this support was suspended in 2016/2017.) Even national defence has been partially outsourced. When Islamist militants began rampaging through the northern province of Cabo Delgado, the government struggled to contain it and contracted Russian and South African mercenary groups. When that failed, they authorised a military intervention by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and invited a parallel mission by the Rwanda Defence Forces. It is thus no surprise that Mozambicans have virtually no expectation that their own government will come to the rescue when facing an emergency. Instead, they look outward. As one community leader in a rural village told me, 'Here, we depend on Trump.' Cash-strapped and corrupt Mozambique has 35 million people. About 2.5 million live with HIV, the second highest HIV-positive population in the world after South Africa. Life expectancy is well under 60. The country is extremely poor: eight in ten people live on less than three dollars per day. The government is also deeply cash-strapped. The South African government spends 10 times more per citizen than the Mozambican government does. A large chunk of its spending goes towards paying off debt. At present, Mozambique simply doesn't have the money to build an effective health system, though had it spent its limited budget reserves more effectively over the years it could have developed a health system that was at least a bit more independent of donor support. Instead, the country's budgetary resources have often been wasted on corruption. Mozambique currently ranks 146th out of 180 in the world on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. This has directly played a role in its public health woes. One clear example of this is the Tuna Bonds scandal, in which state-owned companies took out two billion dollars' worth of loans, backed by secret state guarantees. This was supposedly to finance large fishing and maritime security projects. In reality, much of the money was siphoned off to enrich political elites, including the then-finance minister (who is now in prison). As a result of those decisions, the country was swallowed by debt. And when the extent of the corruption was publicised in 2016, the IMF pulled its financial support for Mozambique. A detailed 2021 report found this directly led to a fall in economic growth and government spending. It states: 'Comparing the three-year average of 2016-18 to the three previous years, spending on health and education fell by USD 1.7 billion – entirely due to the debt.' The country's governance crisis is further demonstrated by the political unrest that engulfed the country after the October elections last year, triggered by accusations of election fraud. The accusations were likely overblown, but international observers said the election was not free and fair. Even during the brief one-week period that I spent in central Mozambique, signs of corruption and mismanagement filtered into my interactions with officials. For instance, before I embarked on a multi-day tour of one province, government officials told me that someone from the provincial health department would need to accompany me on my trip. This was apparently in order to make formal introductions to district-level officials that I hadn't asked to meet. For this apparently vital service, the man would need to be paid a per diem of roughly 500 rand a day for two days, they said. The civil servant in question was a very senior person in the provincial health department. Despite facing a collapsing health system in the wake of the US cuts, he was apparently ready to drop everything he had going for the rest of that week to follow me around. READ | US cancels 83% of USAID programmes, impacting global aid efforts When I explained that I wouldn't pay a government official to stalk me, I was told that saying no wasn't an option. This is unfortunately the way things are done around these parts, said a local who helped arrange the tour. (Neither GroundUp, Spotlight nor I paid the bribe, incidentally.) US responsibility Against this backdrop, it is perhaps no surprise that defenders of the current US government have often resorted to arguments about moral responsibility when justifying the decision to abruptly slash aid. It is reasonable to ask why the American taxpayer should bear any of the brunt of Mozambique's public health system when so many of its problems have been caused by the Mozambican government itself. But it's not so simple. The Mozambican civil war from 1977 to 1992 destroyed the country. The anti-communist RENAMO insurgency likely received millions of dollars of support from US evangelists, despite committing numerous atrocities. It is strongly suspected that the US government also materially supported RENAMO. So the US's involvement in Mozambique has not been innocent. It could be argued that its aid spending was the least the US could do to make amends for its role in the war. Moreover, Mozambique didn't develop its high level of dependency in isolation. For over two decades, the US actively took responsibility for core functions of the country's health system. Up until January, the US government continued to sign numerous contracts with local organisations, pledging millions of dollars to help run life-saving health programmes for years into the future. The health system was consequently built around these commitments. If the US was going to take that much responsibility for the wellbeing of some of the world's most vulnerable people, then it had a duty to at least provide notice before pulling the plug. Instead, it chose to slash the funds instantly, and in a manner that needlessly maximised damage and confusion. Stop-work orders were issued overnight which required that people who were doing life-saving work down their tools immediately. Organisations decided to adhere to these instructions rigidly in the hope that their funding would be reinstated. At that point the Trump administration said it was only pausing aid funding pending a review, and no one wanted to give the reviewers a reason to terminate their programmes. The consequence was complete chaos. Orphaned children in extremely rural parts of Mozambique waited for their case workers to bring them their medicines, but often they simply never came. Many of these children had no idea why they had been abandoned. When certain case workers decided to defy the stop-work order and continue their work voluntarily, they were forced to do so in secret. To add fuel to the fire, the Trump administration routinely provided contradictory information to its former recipients and to the public. The initial executive order signed in January said all foreign development assistance would be suspended for 90 days, pending a review, and might be restored after this time. Then, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver which stated that the suspension wouldn't apply to life-saving humanitarian services. Rubio told the public that organisations providing these life-saving services could instantly resume their work under this order. Yet the organisations themselves received different instructions from their USAID officers. Rather than immediately continuing their work, they were told to submit revised budgets that only covered life-saving services and to wait for approval. Organisations rushed to submit these budgets by the deadline. But in the end, the green light never came and their funds remained frozen. This was not only the case in Mozambique; researchers estimated that virtually no funds were released under Rubio's waiver globally. In the meantime, Rubio stated that organisations that hadn't resumed life-saving activities were clearly unable to understand instructions or were simply trying to make a political point. Later on, the organisations received explicit termination notices, ending their programmes. Despite this, US embassies and several large media outlets continued to reference Rubio's order as if it was actually implemented en masse. Even as I write this, the on-again, off-again US aid story is unfinished. This mixed messaging created an enormous amount of confusion for staff of these organisations and the recipients of their work, ultimately for no clear benefit to the American people. There was simply never any reason to act this callously toward health organisations to whom USAID had pledged its support. In contrast to the rampant corruption which has plagued the Mozambican government, these organisations were heavily audited in order to continue receiving funding. The work they were doing was clearly making a material difference to some of the poorest people on earth. In the far-flung settlements that I visited, villagers told me about how their lives had been transformed by these organisations. Many were only put on life-saving HIV treatment because of them. Whatever arguments one may want to advance about the importance of self-sufficiency and national responsibility, none of this justifies the US government administering the aid cuts in such a callous and confusing manner.
Chicago Tribune
5 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Public health officials: Ending the HIV epidemic is in sight. We can't stop now.
Thanks to decades of sustained federal investment, Chicago, Cook County and Illinois are on the cusp of ending the HIV epidemic in our city, county and state. This remarkable progress is a testament to programs such as the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, established in 1990 to provide crucial health care to those living with HIV and AIDS. This critical legislation, named in honor of young AIDS activist Ryan White, marked a turning point in our fight against HIV. It wasn't just a humanitarian response; it was sound public health policy. Within that decade, the spread of HIV, the progression of HIV to AIDS and the mortality rates due to AIDS all peaked and have been declining ever since. Funding channeled through state and city agencies such as the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Cook County Department of Pubic Health (CCDPH) and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), alongside direct support to community organizations, made medical treatment and support services accessible, especially for low-income individuals. Coupled with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant programs for monitoring, testing and prevention with lifesaving tools such as the prophylaxis medicines PrEP and Doxy PEP, we've built a robust system that works. It is thanks to this funding and the work of hundreds of epidemiology teams at local health agencies including IDPH, CCDPH and CDPH that we have data that shows how many people have received an HIV diagnosis and how many people are receiving HIV care. Thirty-five years later, Chicago, Cook County and Illinois, along with the rest of the country, have seen a dramatic decrease in new diagnoses thanks to these prevention, testing and treatment programs. We also see higher percentages of those living with HIV getting vital care and treatment and living long, full lives. But this progress is fragile. To pull back now would be a catastrophic mistake, especially for our most vulnerable communities. Despite hitting a significant low in new HIV cases, the burden of HIV/AIDS still falls disproportionately on communities of color. And while medical advancements allow those living with HIV to survive and thrive, their care demands continuous, costly services. More work is needed to see basic investment and improvements to HIV monitoring and infrastructure while also making use of more advanced technology. Consider the immediate impact: In 2024 alone, nearly 14,000 Chicagoans and thousands more Illinoisans relied on Ryan White funding for their HIV care. A staggering 70% of those served by CDPH-funded programs are Black, Latino, or Hispanic — the very communities most affected by HIV/AIDS. The lifeline for these programs? Federal funding. In fact, more than 90% of CDPH's annual budget for managing infectious diseases, including HIV, comes directly from federal sources. Yet, despite this clear success and urgent need, Washington, D.C., is debating draconian cuts to these vital programs in next year's budget, even threatening to rescind funds already allocated for 2025. The consequences of these cuts would be devastating. AmfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, projects that a 50% reduction in HIV prevention funding from the CDC could lead to 75,000 new HIV infections across the U.S. by 2030 — and that number would nearly double if all funding is eliminated. Here in Illinois, we could face over 5,500 additional new HIV cases, leading to sicker populations and a tragic rise in deaths due to lack of treatment. Without these federal dollars, our neighbors would lose access to critical prevention tools such as PrEP, essential testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and lifesaving treatments. We stand at a crossroads. We have the knowledge, tools and proven programs to end the HIV epidemic. We are so close. To retreat now, when the finish line is in sight, would be an act of profound negligence. We urge our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to reject these dangerous cuts and continue investing in the programs that protect the health and well-being of all Illinoisans. We cannot afford to backtrack and lose the tremendous progress that has been made in fighting HIV. The health of our communities depends on it.
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Report finds ‘dehumanizing' conditions in Florida immigration detention centers
Conditions in South Florida's immigration detention centers during the Trump administration's ongoing crackdown have been described as degrading and dehumanizing—violating international human-rights standards and the U.S. government's own detention guidelines—in a newly released report by three advocacy organizations. The 92-page report, ''You Feel Like Your Life is Over': Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centers Since January 2025,' was released this week by Americans for Immigrant Justice, Human Rights Watch and Sanctuary of the South. It alleges widespread mistreatment of migrants detained at the Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center and the Federal Detention Center in Miami. The organizations—an immigrant-rights law firm, a global human-rights watchdog and a worker-led collective—reviewed documents and interviewed 17 current and former detainees, along with family members and attorneys. Detainees described extreme overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and abusive treatment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and private contractors. 'Some were shackled for prolonged periods on buses without food, water, or functioning toilets; there was extreme overcrowding in freezing holding cells where detainees were forced to sleep on cold concrete floors under constant fluorescent lighting,' the report states. 'Many were denied access to basic hygiene and medical care.' The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Bureau of Prisons did not respond to the Miami Herald's requests for comment. Emergencies were ignored Medical neglect was a central theme of the findings. Detainees with diabetes, HIV, asthma, kidney conditions and chronic pain reported being denied essential medications and doctor visits. Among the cases described in the report: ▪ A man with chronic illness said he collapsed after being transferred from the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach without his required daily medication. His family discovered he had been hospitalized under a false name. He was returned to detention in shackles. ▪ One man said he coughed up blood for hours in a crowded cell. When detainees protested, a Disturbance Control Team stormed in, zip-tied them and forced them to lie face down on a wet floor. One detainee reported seeing an officer instruct colleagues to turn off the CCTV camera. Another said an officer slapped him. ▪ A man detained at Krome described collapsing from a strangulated hernia after being denied care. 'The doctor told me if I had come in any later, my intestines would've ruptured,' he said. 'I had to throw myself on the floor just to get help.' He said he also witnessed officers hogtie and beat detainees who refused to board a transfer bus after a peaceful protest. ▪ Two men said they were denied HIV treatment while detained at Krome. One, previously held at the West Miami-Dade facility in 2020 and provided daily medication, was re-arrested in February. Despite the facility having his medical records, he waited 12 days before seeing a doctor. Similarly, another man had to wait over 13 days to receive his HIV medication, causing his previously undetectable viral load to become detectable. ▪ Another woman described witnessing the death of Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman in the Broward Transitional Center. 'We started yelling for help, but the guards ignored us,' she said. 'By the time the rescue team arrived, she wasn't moving.' READ MORE: Florida congresswomen demand answers after Haitian woman dies in ICE custody Detainees said they were made to eat while handcuffed behind their backs, according to the report. They also described retaliation for seeking mental health support. At the Broward Transitional Center, they said, people who asked for help were placed in solitary confinement for weeks. Women held at Krome, a facility meant for men, reported being confined without bedding or privacy. One woman recalled arriving late at night on Jan. 28 and being held for days in a cell that was typically used for intake procedures and had just one toilet covered in feces. 'People in immigration detention are being treated as less than human,' Belkis Wille, the report's author and associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 'These are not isolated incidents, but the result of a fundamentally broken detention system that is rife with serious abuses.' Enforcement and Detention Immigration detention has surged nationwide since the beginning of Trump's second term, leading to overcrowding. In Florida, federal and state crackdowns have driven the detained population at Krome to nearly triple in three months. The Federal Detention Center, previously unused for immigration detention, began housing hundreds of immigrants earlier this year. The report emphasizes that the current administration has shown that 'any non-citizen, not just those with criminal convictions, are prone to apprehension and detention.' It highlights that the Department of Homeland Security exercises broad authority to detain and initiate removal proceedings against anyone out of lawful status. This includes people who entered the country without authorization, overstayed tourist or work visas, had student visas revoked or lost temporary protections such as humanitarian parole or Temporary Protected Status after they expired or were terminated. The report contrasts this approach with that of Trump's previous administration, which placed less emphasis on detaining and deporting non-citizens in these categories , instead focusing more narrowly on individuals with criminal records or those deemed national security threats. The expanded scope of enforcement — and the proliferation of 287(g) agreements linking local police and corrections and federal immigration enforcement — is contributing to a 'dramatic increase in arrests and detentions,' the report states. Within a month of Trump's second term, the number of people detained by ICE began to rise. Throughout 2024, an average of approximately 37,500 people were held in immigration detention each day. By June 20, that number had climbed to over 56,000 detainees on any given day—a 40 percent increase compared to June 2024, according to Human Rights Watch analysis of ICE data. Advocates have raised serious concerns about detainee safety and access to basic services amid extreme overcrowding in Florida's immigration detention facilities. At Krome, the number of detainees surged by 249 percent by March compared to pre-inauguration levels, with the facility at times holding more than three times its operational capacity, according to Human Rights Watch report. By June 20, the total number of immigration detainees across the three facilities in Florida remained 111 percent above levels seen before President Trump's return to office, underscoring the ongoing strain on the state's detention infrastructure under the administration's intensified immigration enforcement policies. Human Rights Watch says it sent letters on May 20 and June 11 to ICE, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the private companies managing Krome and Broward Transitional Center, detailing their findings and requesting responses. It says only the company operating Krome replied, saying it could not comment publicly. Echoes of previous reporting The findings in the report echo conditions independently documented by the Miami Herald in recent months. The Herald interviewed three former Krome detainees, along with attorneys and family members of three others held at the west Miami-Dade complex. They described a facility pushed to the brink, with detainees living in distress. READ MORE: 'Inhumane:' Overcrowding strains Krome detention center amid Trump's immigrant crackdown Although Krome and other ICE-run detention centers are bound by strict standards covering medical, mental health, hygiene, legal access, abuse prevention and language services, immigration attorneys told the Herald that conditions at Krome are 'the worst seen in 20 years' and have 'risen to the level of an international human rights disaster.' Another Herald investigation revealed last month that migrant detainees held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami are facing harsh and potentially rights-violating conditions. The facility, primarily designed for criminal defendants, is now also housing immigrants. According to legal documents and interviews with detainees, Bureau of Prisons staff and attorneys, the center is plagued by crumbling infrastructure, frequent use of force and severely limited access to legal counsel. While some detainees say the basic living conditions are slightly better than those in nearby ICE-run detention centers, access to legal support is significantly worse. Detainees report difficulty in communicating with attorneys, making legal phone calls or preparing for court. These findings raise concerns about due process, since immigration detention is civil in nature and not meant to be punitive. The government has expanded detention capacity to federal prisons. Under a February contract, ICE began placing detainees in five Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities. Legal documents and interviews reviewed by the Herald show these immigrants face harsh conditions, deteriorating infrastructure, and limited legal access—though in some cases, facilities are better maintained than traditional ICE centers. A Feb. 7 letter from Bureau of Prisons administrators classified immigrant detainees as 'pretrial inmates,' despite their civil—not criminal—status. Recommendations According to the advocacy organizations report, the abuses described violate ICE's own Performance-Based National Detention Standards and National Detention Standards, as well as international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and the UN's Mandela Rules. The report urges the federal government to scale back detention and adopt community-based alternatives that provide legal, housing, and healthcare support—especially for asylum seekers, people with disabilities and others in compliance with immigration proceedings. It recommends that Congress repeal mandatory detention laws, reduce ICE funding and expand legal aid and oversight. DHS and ICE are called on to end the use of prisons, jails and private facilities for civil detention, improve medical care and increase transparency. For Florida officials, the report recommends ending 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement and rejecting new detention contracts. It also calls on United Nations bodies to investigate conditions in U.S. immigration detention and hold the government accountable for rights violations.
