Harambee

Issue date: 12/8/08 Section: Health

This Red Ribbon is considered the International Ribbon of AIDS Awareness [Click to enlarge]

December marks the 20th anniversary of the first World AIDS Day back in 1988.

There are over 33 million people infected, according to the United Nations, with two-thirds of the world total being Sub-Saharan Africans.

The situation is just as bleak for African Americans.

According to a report by the Center for American Progress, AIDS is the no. 1 killer of Black women between the ages of 25 and 34. Fifty-three percent of new HIV infections. It has even been estimated that in the nation's capital of Washington, D.C., or "Chocolate City," one in 20 residents have AIDS.

Nearly 600,000 Black Americans are living with HIV, and as many as 30,000 become newly infected each year," writes Jesse Milan, Jr., J.D., chair of the Black AIDS Institute in the the report, "Left Behind- Black Ameica: A Neglected Priority." He asserts that if Black America was it's own country, it may receive assistance in the fashion that is necessary.

While President Bush has made an unprecedented commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa, largely through abstinence only educational programs, many Black activists suggest he has failed domestically.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), who coauthored the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003 and is Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Global HIV/AIDS, emphasized the need to step up efforts here in the U.S. to prevent the spread of the virus, and treat those who have it.

"At home, the release of two new disturbing reports in August, one by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the other from the Black AIDS Institute have both confirmed what many of us have known all along," said Lee in a World AIDS Day message. "Quite simply that HIV/AIDS is continuing to devastate the African American community and men who have sex with men-and that young gay black men are especially at risk."

Lee has also introduced legislation to allow for the distribution of condoms in prisons, a controversial and bold measure that she initiated prior to Proposition 8.

President-elect Barack Obama, in a videotaped World AIDS Day message, encouraged people to recommit themselves to eradicating the disease.

"This epidemic can't be stopped by government alone," said Obama, "and money alone is not the answer either."

Harambee Managing Editor Reginald James and the Laney Black Student Union organized free HIV/AIDS testing for 150 students on campus.

"Student leaders must work to educate their campuses," said James. "We can do this statewide."

Black AIDS Day will be remembered on February 7, 2009. For information on how you can get involved, email harambeenews@gmail.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools