World AIDS Day, Plus Kelly Rowland’s Diary

Posted on December 1st, 2008 by by Melody

Today is Worlds AIDS Day, bringing awareness to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS across the globe. It is very important to know the facts about HIV/AIDS as well as your status.

Here are some of the hard hitting facts about HIV/AIDS and how it disproportionately affects Africa Americans in this nation.

According to the 2000 census, blacks make up approximately 13% of the US population. However, in 2005, blacks accounted for 18,121 (49%) of the estimated 37,331 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.
Of all black men living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact.
Of all black women living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was high-risk heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
Of the estimated 141 infants perinatally infected with HIV, 91 (65%) were black (CDC, HIV/AIDS Reporting System, unpublished data, December 2006).
Of the estimated 18,849 people under the age of 25 whose diagnosis of HIV/AIDS was made during 2001–2004 in the 33 states with HIV reporting, 11,554 (61%) were black. SOURCE

Learn more a AIDS.gov and WorldAIDSDay.org.

Kelly Rowland has joined the efforts to bring awareness the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa through a documentary titled “Staying Alive Special : THE DIARY OF KELLY ROWLAND.” The documentary follows Kelly as she travels through Africa and the US getting to know the HIV and then educating people about the decease.

Continue reading part 2 and 3…

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