The mission of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is to build the capacity and increase awareness, participation and support for HIV prevention, care and treatment among African Americans. February 7, 2007 marks the seventh year of this annual event.
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The primary goal of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is to motivate African Americans to get tested and know their HIV status; get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/AIDS; get involved in their local community; and get treated if they are currently living with HIV or are newly diagnosed.
When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, we see that African Americans have:
More illness. Even though African Americans account for about 13% of the US population, they account for about half (49%) of the people who get HIV and AIDS.
Shorter survival times. African Americans with AIDS often don’t live as long as people of other races and ethnic groups with AIDS. This is due to the barriers mentioned above.
More deaths. For African Americans, HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death.
The reality is similar for children: HIV/AIDS affects African American children the most. In 2005, 104 (63%) of the 166 children under the age of 13 in 33 states diagnosed with HIV/AIDS were African American….
among men, 41% of men living with HIV/AIDS were in African American
among women, 64% of women living with HIV/AIDS were in African American
Or you can look at these more current numbers as well:
AIDS in 2005
African Americans accounted for 22,030 (50%) of the estimated 44,198 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American adults and adolescents was 10 times the rate for whites and nearly 3 times the rate for Hispanics. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American women was nearly 24 times the rate for white women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American men was 8 times the rate for white men.
The 188,077 African Americans living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for 44% of the 425,910 people in the United States living with AIDS.
Of the 58 US children (younger than 13 years of age) who had a new AIDS diagnosis, 39 were African American.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, African Americans have accounted for 399,637 (42%) of the estimated 956,666 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
From the beginning of the epidemic through December 2005, an estimated 211,559 African Americans with AIDS died.
Of persons whose diagnosis of AIDS had been made during 1997-2004, a smaller proportion of African Americans (66%) were alive after 9 years compared with American Indians and Alaska Natives (67%), Hispanics (74%), whites (75%), and Asians and Pacific Islanders (81%).
These numbers should scare you. Fear, ignorance and the stigma of getting tested is still leading to more deaths everyday in America and around the World. Lack of Funding for Health Care and Treatment and IV Drug use also add to the death toll. The current regime in Washington only wants to talk about abstinence as a means of protecting people from HIV & AIDS as well as other sexually transmitted diseases. While the death toll from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are horrendous, the ultimate death toll from lack of knowledge and funding for HIV & AIDS Awareness under the Bush Regime will far out strip the death toll from the wars. Please talk with your friends of all ethnic backgrounds about testing and prevention.
The Life You Save Could Be A Loved One Or Your Own.
