February 7 marks the 12th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a national community mobilization initiative to boost HIV awareness and advance HIV prevention, testing, and treatment among blacks in the United States.
HIV and AIDS Disproportionately Affect Blacks
Among all racial/ethnic groups, African Americans bear the greatest burden of HIV in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 16 black men and 1 in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV infection during their lifetimes. In 2009, blacks made up 14% of the US population but accounted for nearly half (44%) of all new HIV infections. Recent CDC data showed an alarming 48% increase in new HIV infections from 2006 to 2009 among young, black men who have sex with men (MSM), aged 13 to 29 years. Black women, most of whom are infected through heterosexual contact, are far more affected by HIV than women of other races. The rate of new HIV infections for black women is more than 15 times as high as that of white women, and more than 3 times as high as that of Latino women.
Today, we have many more opportunities than ever before to reduce the disproportionate burden that black men, women, and young adults bear. Working together with state and local public health agencies, black communities, and other partners in the public and private sectors, CDC has stepped up efforts to address the HIV epidemic in black communities. One of these efforts is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). NBHAAD is directed, planned, and organized by the Strategic Leadership Council
, a group of organizations that partner with CDC to mobilize communities across the country to fight HIV and lessen its impact on black communities.
Why Are Blacks More Severely Burdened?
- Blacks face a higher risk of being exposed to HIV infection with each new sexual encounter because more people are living with HIV in black communities, and most blacks have partners who are of the same race/ethnicity.
- Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, blacks continue to experience higher rates of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which can increase the chance of contracting and spreading HIV.
- Blacks do not engage in more risky behavior than members of other racial/ethnic populations. Many of the factors that place blacks at higher risk for chronic diseases also place them at increased risk for HIV. For example, social and economic realities prevalent among blacks—such as higher levels of poverty, racial discrimination, limited access to health care and housing, and higher rates of incarceration—are associated with increased HIV risk.
- Lack of awareness of HIV status can affect HIV rates in all communities. Approximately 1 in 5 adults and adolescents in the United States living with HIV do not know they are infected. This translates to approximately 116,750 persons in the black community. Black MSM are particularly burdened with HIV. In 21 major cities, 28% of black MSM were infected with HIV, and 59% of those did not know they were infected.
- Fear of disclosing risk behavior or sexual orientation may prevent blacks from seeking testing, prevention and treatment services, and support from friends and family.
(read more at the CDC website)
The following was posted at the White House blog by Valerie Jarrett:
January 7th, 2011 On this, the 12th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I remember my sister-in-law’s fight with the disease. Tragically, she did not win that fight – she left behind a devastated husband and five-year old daughter. But it is in her memory, and the memory of all the friends and loved ones we have lost, that we vow to keep working toward the day when HIV/AIDS is history.
This past December, on World AIDS Day, President Obama spoke about the United States’ commitment to ending HIV/AIDS. In a speech at George Washington University, he told the audience, “Make no mistake, we are going to win this fight. But the fight is not over … not by a long shot.”
Sadly, this is especially true in the African-American community. Black Americans represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, but they account for 44 percent of new HIV infections. Among young black gay men alone, infections have increased by nearly 50 percent in just three years, and black women account for the largest share of HIV infections among women. We each must do our part by getting tested regularly, and by educating those in our community about what they can do to help end the epidemic.
President Obama is committed to doing his part as well. In 2010, he released the nation’s first comprehensive HIV/AIDS plan. Together with Secretary Clinton, he has helped assemble a coalition of governments, healthcare professionals, and service providers. They have set a goal that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago: an AIDS-free generation, in which virtually all children are born HIV-free, and prevention tools help them stay HIV-free throughout their lives.
We will not achieve this goal overnight. But we know that we must keep making progress, each and every day. For our communities and our families, the stakes are simply too high for us to be satisfied with anything less.
So today, we do more than commemorate those we have lost. We rededicate ourselves to the work ahead. Because even when it comes to an epidemic as devastating as HIV/AIDS, we have the chance to write our own destiny. As President Obama said in December, “We can end this pandemic. We can beat this disease. We can win this fight.”
For more information about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and this Administration’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the Black community, visit www.aids.gov.