Bay Area Reporter - October 11, 2007
Bob Roehr

The ambitious goals, announced at a Capitol Hill news conference two weeks ago, include reducing the HIV rates in black America by 50 percent; increasing the number of people who know their HIV status by 50 percent; increasing the number of those living with HIV who are in care by 50 percent; and reducing the AIDS stigma within black communities by 50 percent.

"AIDS is a black disease no matter how you look at it - through the lens of gender, or sexual orientation, or age, socioeconomic class, education, or region of the country - black people bear the brunt of the epidemic," said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, at the September 25 briefing.

"Some 30 percent of new cases among gay men are among black men; 40 percent of new cases among men are black; 67 percent of new cases among women are black, and 70 percent of new cases among youth are black. That is why we are calling on this mobilization," Wilson added.

"Why are more than 50 percent of new HIV cases occurring within the African American community when we are only 13 percent of the people?" asked Dr. Mohammad Akhter, executive director of the National Medical Association, an organization that primarily serves physicians and patients within the black community.

"We need to reassess the national strategy on HIV/AIDS to see why it is not working. Shouldn't we do that after 20 years? If 50 percent of the new cases of HIV are in the Africa American community, shouldn't that be where 50 percent of the resources should be going? Shouldn't we be focusing on the African American community?" Akhter said.

The plan

Wilson said planning for the campaign began in June 2006. The call to action includes release of the 68-page report "We're the Ones We've Been Waiting For: The State of AIDS in Black America... And What We're Doing About It," from the Black AIDS Institute.

Wilson acknowledged that earlier efforts to rally the black community to fight AIDS have fallen short, but said this time will be different. "The reason why I think this is different is that it is the first time there is a national coordinated effort of all sectors of the black community," he said, referring to elected officials at all levels, the media, religious groups and megachurches, a celebrity task force, and the civil rights community.

One key element of the call to action is the "Test 1 Million" campaign to have that number of African Americans take an HIV test by December 2008.

"The testing itself is far less important than two other things," Wilson said. "One is the conversation that happens when you urge people to get tested; what we are trying to do is change the cultural morals in our community, to create a new dialogue. The second is to get people into treatment. A test by itself does not prevent new infections, it does not provide care and treatment."

"Our strategy, by engaging specific organizations and sectors, is to get people to make specific commitments" toward a testing goal, Wilson explained. It could be a congressional town hall meeting, a church service, or an entertainment event. He said the pop superstar Beyonce is going to work with the campaign on her national tour.

Wilson believes, "When you look at the different sectors and they say, 'we are committed to participating in this by setting a goal of how many people we are going to test,' then they are engaged."

Hazel Trice Edney is editor in chief of the National Newspaper Publishers' Association, a wire service that provides content to more than 200 black-owned newspapers across the country. She said, "We believe it is our responsibility to step up to the plate. Too many people in the black community still see AIDS as a white male gay disease."

The association has committed to educating that community to the facts through a series of 25 columns authored by leading political, religious, and entertainment figures, starting this month. The series will cover a full range of topics, from prevention to accessing care to the politics of AIDS.

Politics

Ronald Johnson, deputy director of AIDS Action, stressed the need for the U.S. to create a domestic national AIDS plan, something that the government requires of other nations that it assists in the fight against AIDS.

"We have had strategies, we have had plans, the dust on them is inches thick," he said. "The next president has to be committed, and I am confident that the next president will be committed to a real strategy. We need concrete outcomes and accountability."

Johnson's optimism is fueled by the fact that more than 100 AIDS organizations have sign on to the call for such a national plan, and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards released a detailed AIDS plan on September 23. Johnson said, "Ending the epidemic in the black community has to be a centerpiece of any national plan. I'm hopeful that we are going to do this."

Debra Fraser-Howze, CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, said, "I think there is a coming together; all of the stars are lining up for us. HIV is an essential part of the presidential debate. And the ministers have decided that the plans have been on the shelf for too long."

Representative Maxine Waters (D-California) has championed the Stop AIDS in Prisons Act of 2007 (HR 1943), which would provide routine, opt-out HIV testing with pre- and post-test counseling to all federal prisoners. It would link a positive test result to access to care. Incarceration is associated with increased risk for HIV.

The House passed the bill by unanimous consent later that afternoon. However, there is not a companion bill in the Senate, nor has anyone yet agreed to lead the effort in that chamber.

Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), in adding her support to the call for action said, "This is not an ideological issue, it is a moral and humanitarian call for equality and justice, and each of us must do our part."

The Black AIDS Institute's report is available online at http://www.blackaids.org/image_uploads/article_381/.pdf.

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