National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
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Today marks the observance of the 14th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This day reminds us that HIV remains a major public health concern in African American communities more than thirty years after the first AIDS cases were identified. On this day and every day, we acknowledge the need for continued effort and improved results in fighting this preventable infection. All African Americans deserve lifesaving HIV prevention, testing, care, and treatment services.
HIV's Rapid Rise and the Decline of African American Men
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In August of 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report that detailed the rise and rapid rate of escalation of HIV among young, African American males. Young men between the ages of 13 and 29 are fast becoming the most infected class in the nation. Contributing greatly to the rise, according to the CDC, is young men having sex with other men. Their mates are most often older men…significantly older men who are the most likely group to already be infected with HIV.
