A new HIV campaign
African American groups will receive funding to help them incorparate HIV prevention into their everyday efforts.
The Obama Adminstration launched a five-year campaign Tuesday to remind Americans that HIV is still a threat. National health officials say too many people are unaware of their HIV risk and fail to protect themselves.
Listen: [audio:sci20090408aids.mp3]
Transcript:
Another person in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV every 9-1/2 minutes. Health officials say they’ll need to break through widespread complacency in order to slow the spread of the virus.
Early efforts will focus on the African American community.
At the announcement in Washington, Jesse Milan said the campaign will reinvigorate prevention efforts. Milan is chairman of the board for the Black AIDS Institute.
Milan: As a person, as an American living with HIV/AIDs, I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate a president who cares about the epidemic at home.
More than 14-thousand people with HIV/AIDS die in the United States each year, and experts say HIV funding and attention have decreased in recent years.
In Philadelphia, local activists say blacks represent two-thirds of the city’s new HIV infections, so the administration’s efforts are timely.
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