For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES OBSERVES NATIONAL BLACK HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY
February 6, 2006, Los Angeles, Calif. – On Tuesday, February 7, AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) will join thousands of individuals and organizations across the United States in observance of the sixth annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD).
Organizers of this annual event are sending a four-part message to African American communities this year: get tested and know your HIV status; get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/AIDS; get involved in your local community; and get treated if you are currently living with HIV or are newly diagnosed.
African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, accounting for half of all new AIDS diagnoses. More African Americans are newly diagnosed with AIDS, living with AIDS or dying of HIV than any other ethnic group in this country. Once diagnosed, blacks have a lower survival rate than other racial and ethnic groups and experience more barriers to accessing care than other groups.
In July of last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released figures estimating that 46 percent of black gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV. Likewise, black women account for the majority (67 percent) of new AIDS cases among women.
In Los Angeles, HIV/AIDS is the third leading cause of death among African American males aged 25 to 44. The city is one of more than 100 across the country that will sponsor programs tomorrow to call attention to the epidemic among blacks and seek solutions to halt it.
Local activities planned for this important day include free HIV testing in Leimert Park; a candlelight vigil in Pacoima; and a “human billboard” that will form at Crenshaw Boulevard and Vernon Avenue beginning at 4:00 pm.
APLA and In The Meantime (ITMT), who will partner in 2006 on an HIV prevention campaign for black gay and bisexual men, will hold a forum to examine the rising rate of infection in these populations. The forum will be held at 7:30 pm at The Village Health Community Room, 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (Parking is available at the Catch One, and the event will be catered by Dulans on Crenshaw).
“Since the beginning of the epidemic, African Americans have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS,” said Craig E. Thompson, APLA’s executive director. “We can reverse this trend by increasing awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on black Americans and adequately funding programs to support them. The message we send tomorrow is that we cannot be silent about HIV/AIDS in black communities any more.”
For more information on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness & Information Day, visit www.blackaidsday.org or e-mail phillw@blackaids.org.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.
In the Meantime (ITMT) is a Los Angeles-based community service organization, dedicated to the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of black same gender loving, gay, and bisexual men. We endorse and affirm a united black community. For more information, visit www.inthemeantimemen.org.
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