• CDC Features

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2009

Learn about HIV/AIDS, get tested for HIV, and speak out against discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.

February 7, 2009 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). In the United States, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a health crisis for African Americans. Blacks make up 12% of the US population. However, in 2006, African Americans accounted for 45% of new HIV infections and 46% of those living with HIV.1

Black gay/bisexual men and black women are the most affected by the HIV epidemic.2

• One in 30 black women will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime.2
• The rate of new infections among black women in 2006 was 15 times that of white women and four times that of Hispanic women.3
• AIDS was the leading cause of death for Black women ages 25-34 according to most recent data (2004)4
• One in 16 black men will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime.1
• Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) accounted for 63% of new infections among black men in 2006.3

Since the beginning of the epidemic, over 200,000 African Americans with AIDS have died.5

Data Source:

1 CDC. HIV Prevalence Estimates — United States, 2006. MMWR 2008; 57: 1073-1076.

2 Hall HI, An Q, Hutchinson A, Sansom, S. Estimating the Lifetime Risk of a Diagnosis of the HIV Infection in 33 States, 2004–2005. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008. 294-295.

3 CDC. Subpopulation Estimates from the HIV Incidence Surveillance System — United States, 2006. MMWR 2008; 57: 985-989.

4 Heron MP. Deaths: Leading causes for 2004. National vital statistics reports; vol 56 no 5. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2007.

5 CDC. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2006. Vol. 18. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2008.

More Information

• CDC National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Feature

• NBHAAD Podcast: Dr. Kevin Fenton discusses the impact of HIV on African American communities, and how people can protect their health and the health of their loved ones. (5:18 mins)

• CDC Web Topic: HIV/AIDS and African Americans
  Learn about the impact of HIV/AIDS in African American communities.

• CDC HIV/AIDS
  CDC's Web site for HIV/AIDS in the United States.

• National HIV Testing Database
  Find an HIV test site near you from the National HIV Testing Database, a CDC-sponsored service available 24 hours a day.

• CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)
  The US reference, referral, and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and TB.