Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Blade - September 11, 2008
Ryan Lee
After announcing last month that the annual number of HIV infections in the U.S. is 40 percent higher than previously thought, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention confirmed this morning in a conference call with reporters that young black gay and bisexual men are the population seeing the highest rates of new HIV infections.
But CDC officials announced "there were more new HIV infections in young black [gay and bisexual] men aged 13-29 than any other age or racial group" of gay men.
Kevin Fenton, director of HIV/AIDS division at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, called new HIV incidence data about black gay men "alarming," while black gay activists again criticized the CDC for long ignoring the group most affected by HIV.
Fenton again noted that some 80 percent of black gay and bisexual men have never come in contact with a CDC-approved HIV-prevention intervention.
The CDC currently has 18 interventions for HIV prevention, but only two of those programs specifically target black gay men.
"Thus far, the response from our government and civic leaders has been insufficient," said Cornelius Baker, national policy adviser fort the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, said in a statement.
"Despite continuously accumulating data there has been little commitment from policy makers and elected officials at the federal, state or local level. The silence still equals death. Promoting leadership among black gay men and sustained investments in the organizations that serve them is critical," Baker said.
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