PR Newswire; Monday September 14, 1998

At the African American Leadership Summit on AIDS, key government and community leaders will brief NBCSL members on the government response to the HIV/AIDS crisis and the status of government-funded programs. According to NBCSL President Lois DeBerry, speaker pro tem of the Tennessee House of Representatives, members plan to adopt an action plan to increase the ability of state governments to eliminate barriers that impede progress in the fight against AIDS.

More than one third -- 35 percent -- of all reported AIDS cases and 43 percent of new AIDS cases are among African Americans, even though African Americans comprise only 12 percent of the U.S. population. While AIDS-related deaths have declined, due in large part to the availability of new drugs, the rate of decline has been much slower among African Americans.(2)

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, will give a call to action on Sept. 15. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., and Helen Gayle, M.D., MPH, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will provide an overview of the HIV/AIDS crisis from the federal perspective. Other national figures to address the summit include Kweisi Mfume, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Keith Rawlings, M.D., of the National Medical Association (NMA).

Plenary sessions will address the status of the impact of HIV/AIDS in the African American community, the government's response to the epidemic and the role of African American leadership. Workshops will consider topics relating to funding, substance abuse and women's issues.

The NBCSL represents approximately 600 members in 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Founded in 1977, the primary mission of the NBCSL is to enhance the effectiveness of its members as they consider legislation and policy issues that impact African American constituents within their respective jurisdictions. The group is working to educate its members -- African American legislators in communities across the nation -- as they take on more visible roles to increase access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and services for their constituents.

The African American Leadership Summit on AIDS continues through Sept. 16, 1998, at the Park Hyatt Hotel at 24th and M Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (2) National Center for Health Statistics; and U.S. Bureau of the Census

SOURCE: National Black Caucus of State Legislators

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