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We are here today and we know that we have to work together to overcome this disease . . . I think I can speak for all of us to say that we are ready to bring the full force as a movement to the task of the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative.

- Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Chair and President Emerita, National Council of Negro Women

On Tuesday, April 7, CDC was joined by leaders from the Obama administration, federal agencies, leading civil rights and HIV/AIDS organizations, as well as partners from the private sector to begin a new phase in HIV prevention in the United States. Together, from the White House, we announced a new national campaign, Act Against AIDS; a new partnership with national African-American organizations, the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative; and a partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation to engage media and entertainment industries.

Act Against AIDS seeks to put the HIV crisis back on the national radar screen.

- Melody Barnes, Director White House Domestic Policy Council

 

Spirits ran high as we heard a strong message from Melody Barnes that President Obama and White House leaders are deeply concerned and deeply committed to bringing a renewed focus and urgency to the prevention of HIV/AIDS in this country, as well as a strong commitment to the development and roll out of a national HIV/AIDS strategy.

This is one step to remind the country we have not yet solved the problem of HIV/AIDS in this country. . .and to show that there is much we can do together, government working in partnership with the private sector, the nonprofit community and the general public…”

- Jeff Crowley, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy

 

The many speakers at the event brought a unified voice of urgency, but also of excitement and hope that we will make new progress in the fight to prevent HIV/AIDS, to reduce stigma, to break the silence, and end disparities. We know that HIV is still a big deal in this country with more than 56,000 new infections occurring each year. We know that even though HIV/AIDS continues to impact people of all races, the harsh reality is that approximately 1 in 16 black men and 1 in 30 black women will become HIV/AIDS infected in their lifetime. We know that an HIV diagnosis changes a life forever; that 14,000 people in this country are still dying each year from this disease; and that HIV is a threat to our country’s health.

Many of those who most need this campaign are the ones who need to be reminded that their life could change in 9½ minutes or less.

- Jesse Milan, Board Chair of the Black AIDS Institute

 

The first phase of the Act Against AIDS campaign focuses on the fact that every 9½ minutes another person becomes infected with HIV. In bringing HIV/AIDS back to the headlines, however, we have a greater sense of hope than was present 20 years ago, before highly effective anti-retroviral treatments were available. The 9½-minutes message ends with an invitation to “Get the Facts,” linking people to the www.NineAndaHalfMinutes.org web site. This web site contains more information about HIV and AIDS and action steps to help you protect yourself, your partner, and your community.

As we move forward, the campaign will grow to address the needs of other populations who are severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. And efforts will be ongoing with gay and bisexual men of all races who continue to represent the majority of new infections, and for Latinos who are also disproportionately affected by this epidemic. We have been working with a group of more than a dozen black gay leaders from around the country to develop an Internet-based campaign that will focus on increasing HIV testing among black gay and bisexual men. This campaign will be initiated this summer. In response to one reporter’s question, I reiterated CDC’s commitment to holding ourselves and our partners, including those in the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, accountable to focusing our resources and efforts on populations where the epidemic is hitting hardest. This is especially the case for gay and bisexual men where, in some urban settings across the United States, HIV prevalence is extremely high.

So this is the time to recommit to moving the plateau of new infections on a downward path in the United States. I hope that you all will join us in this next phase of outreach, and add your thoughts and comments to this post below. Together, even in these tough economic times, we will continue to achieve the goals of HIV prevention by coming together both in this campaign and to support the President’s HIV/AIDS National Strategy as it develops.

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