African-American Leaders Provide Recommendations to Bush Administration on Reducing HIV/AIDS in the Black Community
African-American leaders yesterday presented to the Bush administration recommendations to "drastically decreas[e]" HIV/AIDS in the African-American population through prevention and treatment efforts. The recommendations were compiled at a Feb. 6 Washington, D.C., meeting, which included Phill Wilson of the African American AIDS Policy and Training Institute, Debra Frazer-Howze of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Ron Dellums, former California representative and president of Health Care International, and Dr. Beny Primm of the Addiction, Research and Treatment Center in New York City. The meeting coincided with the Feb. 5 release of a CDC report indicating that African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. According to the report, African Americans represent more than 50% of those infected with HIV, while they account for only 12% of the total U.S. population. In addition, the CDC study found that 30% of African-American gay men in their 20s are HIV-positive. Wilson said of this statistic, "Nowhere in the world, besides Botswana, exists a group of people with infection rates this high."
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