Obama's HIV/AIDS effort targets Blacks
George Curry/NNPA Special Correspondent
Issue date: 4/19/09 Section: Cover
(WASHINGTON (NNPA) - After leading the global effort to reduce HIV/AIDs, the federal government is finally directing more attention and financial resources to the epidemic at home by focusing on African-Americans, the group that bears the brunt of the disease, and by aggressively enlisting the help of community-based groups.
At a news conference here last week, officials from the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced a 5-year communications campaign, called the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, that will focus on education, prevention and treatment. The campaign will utilize 14 nationally-known Black groups, including the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), to make people aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
"Act Against AIDS seeks to put the HIV crisis back on the national radar screen," said Melody Barnes, assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. "Our goal is to remind Americans that HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious health threat in the United States and encourage them to get the facts they need to take action for themselves and their communities."
No community has been more devastated than African-Americans. Although Blacks represent only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for half of all diagnosed AIDS cases. Black women account for 61 percent of all new HIV infections among women, a rate nearly 15 times that of White women. Black teens represent only 16 percent of those aged 13 to 19, but 69 percent of new AIDs cases reported among teens. One study found that in five major U.S. cities, 46 percent of Black men having sex with men were infected with HIV, compared to 21 percent of White men having sex with men.
An analysis by the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles disclosed that if Black America were a separate country, the number of African-Americans with HIV would rank 16th in the world, with more infected people than Ethiopia, Botswana and Haiti.
At a news conference here last week, officials from the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced a 5-year communications campaign, called the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, that will focus on education, prevention and treatment. The campaign will utilize 14 nationally-known Black groups, including the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), to make people aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
"Act Against AIDS seeks to put the HIV crisis back on the national radar screen," said Melody Barnes, assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. "Our goal is to remind Americans that HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious health threat in the United States and encourage them to get the facts they need to take action for themselves and their communities."
No community has been more devastated than African-Americans. Although Blacks represent only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for half of all diagnosed AIDS cases. Black women account for 61 percent of all new HIV infections among women, a rate nearly 15 times that of White women. Black teens represent only 16 percent of those aged 13 to 19, but 69 percent of new AIDs cases reported among teens. One study found that in five major U.S. cities, 46 percent of Black men having sex with men were infected with HIV, compared to 21 percent of White men having sex with men.
An analysis by the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles disclosed that if Black America were a separate country, the number of African-Americans with HIV would rank 16th in the world, with more infected people than Ethiopia, Botswana and Haiti.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Colin Tongs
posted 4/21/09 @ 2:32 PM EST
We are a Medical Research company and have through our medical team come up with a possible solution that may help in the treatment and cure for HIV/AIDS. (Continued…)
latest news
posted 4/25/09 @ 7:39 PM EST
We should focus on education, prevention and treatment. AIDS remains the most serious health threat in the United States
Post a Comment