Report: Black U.S. AIDS rates rival some African nations

[Catherine Vincent]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/07/29/black.aids.report/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in some parts of the United States is as severe as in parts of Africa, according to a report out Tuesday.

"Left Behind - Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS" is intended to raise awareness and remind the public that the "AIDS epidemic is not over in America, especially not in Black America," says the report, published by the Black AIDS Institute, an HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on African-Americans.

"AIDS in America today is a black disease," says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the institute and himself HIV-positive for 20 years. "2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black."

Although black people represent only about one in eight Americans, one in every two people living with HIV in the United States is black, the report notes.

The report uses just-released data from UNAIDS and existing CDC and Census data to highlight grim statistics:

[Catherine Vincent]

1. I've also read articles stating black women have the highest percentage of aids cases.

Is it because a lot of the brothers are on the down low (as they say)?

[Brewman_Jax]

2. More to the story

found here in this article from The Black Commentator Lowdown on the Down Low

[Catherine Vincent]

3. Thanks for the link. nt

[psychmommy]

4. this is why condom use is so important.

i am skeptical of the stats. stats and "facts" have been used against us in the past. but, we must protect ourselves and teach our children to do it also-like our lives depend on it. our lives do depend on it. we must get tested and protect ourselves. aids isn't a black disease, it is a human disease.