HIV remains a crisis in African-American communities, threatening the health and well-being of communities across the country.
African Americans continue to face the most severe burden of HIV and AIDS of all racial/ethnic groups in the nation.
During her participation in events for the day, Congresswoman Barbara Lee chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, will discuss what African Americans can do to address this crisis. In addition, information from the 2012 State of AIDS Report will be released on Tuesday.
Facts:
- While blacks represent approximately 14 percent of the population, they account for nearly half of new infections (44 percent), according to the Centers for Disease Control.
- A black woman in the U.S. is 15 times more likely to be living with HIV than a white woman her own age.
Recent CDC data showed an alarming 48 percent increase in new HIV infections among young, black men who have sex with men (MSM) 13 to 29 years old from 2006 to 2009.
"After more than 30 years of struggle, our collective progress reflects the heights that can be reached when all stakeholders work together to achieve common goals," said Congresswoman Lee. "Now is not the time to stop, and we look forward to working with our colleagues until an end of AIDS becomes the reality of our lifetime."
