What is next to address HIV/AIDS epidemic?
What is next to address HIV/AIDS epidemic?
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has wreaked havoc among African-American communities in the United States in the past decade, and the government's slow response is partly to blame, one AIDS advocate says.
It's true that the last eight years in particular have not been happy times for black people with regard to HIV/AIDS, says Phill Wilson, CEO of the Black AIDS Institute of Los Angeles. In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) February 2009 report on "Fighting HIV among African Americans," the estimated rate of new HIV infections among black men in the United States is 115.7 per 100,000 population. This is compared with the estimated rate of new HIV infections among white men of 19.6 per 100,000 population. The same report states that AIDS is the leading cause of death among black women, ages 25 to 34, and it's the second-leading cause of death among black men, ages 35 to 44.
The issue now is to decide what to do to turn things around. "We need a new social marketing campaign that encourages people to get tested and uses triage to get them into care," Wilson suggests. "So, the Black AIDS Institute is advocating a Test One Million campaign to screen 1 million African Americans over the next year." Hopes are that the campaign will identify between 20,000 and 30,000 HIV cases and increase knowledge about HIV status in the black community, he adds.
For its part, the CDC has formed partnerships with African-American leaders through its Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among African Americans (HNR). The CDC is devoting more than half of its prevention budget to efforts in the black community.1 Richard Wolitski, PhD, acting division director for the CDC's Divi- sion of HIV/AIDS Prevention, says, "We've seen a great response from African-American leaders, and I think the leaders are seeing the impact the epidemic is having among African Americans and are stepping up to take action and increase attention to this issue."
The CDC, in the near future, will roll out new efforts that will intensify efforts with leaders of major organizations in the African-American community, he says. "We do have some things on the horizon that will be fairly substantial, and we hope will lead to further increasing the response within the African-American community."
Some of the CDC's recent prevention initiatives have included expanding the number of proven interventions for black men having sex with men (MSM) and women, expanding HIV screening in labor and emergency departments, providing rapid testing and prevention services at a range of African-American community settings, including churches, black universities, and minority gay pride events, and developing a social marketing HIV testing campaign to encourage regular testing among black MSM.1
Reference
1. Fighting HIV among African Americans. CDC Media Facts. February 2009; pp. 1-6. Available at www.cdc.gov.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has wreaked havoc among African-American communities in the United States in the past decade, and the government's slow response is partly to blame, one AIDS advocate says.Subscribe Now for Access
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