Cleveland NAACP, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS Announce AIDS Education, Prevention Campaign
The Cleveland NAACP and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS on Friday announced the start a campaign to curb the spread of HIV within black communities, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. While blacks make up about 25% of the population in the Greater Cleveland area, they account for 54% of the HIV/AIDS cases. The new program, which is expected to "rely heavily" on churches, will focus on education and prevention and will lobby for state and federal funds to stop the spread of the disease. The program will seek to expand AIDS education programs in public schools, create a Web site and chat room with AIDS information and develop "confidential centers" where people can access information about the disease, according to the Plain Dealer (McEnery, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/29). The Cleveland NAACP joined forces with the commission because of the "disproportionate" number of HIV-positive blacks in the area, Cleveland NAACP President George Forbes said. "We hope to set a course and direction for other cities to follow," Debra Fraser-Howze, president and CEO of the commission, said (AP/Dayton Daily News, 3/29).
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