AIDS in Black America is as severe as in parts of Africa

Angered that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American community has been neglected and is on the rise, while U.S government funding has been stagnant and its priorities have been global, Black leaders gathered in Mexico City called for the U.S. government to create and implement a new National AIDS strategy to address the staggering rise in new HIV infections.

The group also appealed for the U.S government to commit $1.3 billion annually to HIV prevention, an amount they said is needed to reverse the large and growing AIDS epidemic in the U.S, especially in the African American community where the largest growth is occurring.

Those gathered for the press conference included Phill Wilson, CEO of the Black AIDS Institute; Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.); Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE; Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress and AIDS activist; Jacob Gayle, deputy vice president of the Ford Foundation; and Pernessa C. Seele, founder and CEO of the Balm in Gilead, Inc.

This call for a new strategy and increased funding has gained more urgency in recent days as the U.S. government has acknowledged what Black leaders have known all along: the U.S has been systematically undercounting its epidemic and consistently failing to respond to the needs of those infected and those at risk.

 “The US is failing its people and that is a direct attack on Black America,” said Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute. “This failure to respond is particularly acute in the epidemic in Black America. The institute has just released a report titled “Left Behind,” which illustrates just how profoundly AIDS in the United States has become a Black disease. Among its findings:

• 500,000 Black Americans are living with HIV, with as many as 30,000 new infections in Black Americans each year.

• AIDS is the leading killer of young Black women between 25-34 years of age and the second-leading cause of death in black men between 35-44.

• A Black woman in the United States is 23 times more likely than a white woman to be diagnosed with AIDS.

Broadway Star, Sheryl Lee Ralph, said the government and public must do something different to address the AIDS crisis in the Black community.
“This cannot be business as usual when it comes to Black people and AIDS,” she said. “The ‘ism’ is playing a big part in what is happening, what does not happen and what will not happen if we don’t do something different.”
She added, “When will the national emergency take place? When will someone get truly outraged? When will somebody truly value Black people? ”