NMAC Announced New AIDS Education Initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Circe J. Gray Le Compte, Director of
Communications
National Minority AIDS Council, 1931 13th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Telephone: (202) 483-6622, ext.
309
NMAC to Announce New AIDS Education Initiative
to Address Domestic HIV Crisis during “An Evening Without Politics: A Benefit
Reception”
September
25, 2009, Washington, D.C.
– Elected
officials from both sides of the aisle will join corporate leaders, Washington policymakers, and members of the AIDS
community for An Evening Without
Politics: A Benefit Reception taking place
September 25th, during the 39th Annual Congressional
Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference, from 8:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., at
the Grand Hyatt Washington.
All in attendance will hear a clear message: the nation needs to renew its
commitment to fighting domestic HIV/AIDS.
“In this tense political climate, it is heartening
to see elected officials, community leaders and students come together to
address HIV/AIDS,” says Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National
Minority AIDS Council (NMAC).
NMAC sponsored the reception in conjunction with
Members of Congress to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact of HIV
in African American communities nationwide, and Washington, D.C.
in particular, and to support AIDS education initiatives at Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
NMAC will announce details of its new HBCU
HIV/AIDS Peer Education Initiative, designed to ensure that young people get
involved on their campuses and help educate one another vis-à-vis an “each one
teach one” methodology. Schools currently slated to participate include Virginia Union
University, in Richmond,
Va.; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; and Bowie State University, Bowie,
Md. Julianne Malveaux, President
of Bennett College explains: “We need our students to strengthen HIV prevention
and education efforts in the communities that they touch and demand that their
peers know their HIV status. We are asking our students to help us ensure that
their campuses – and their communities – contribute to reducing the incidence
of this preventable disease.”
The need for
new approaches to HIV prevention has never been greater. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in August 2008 that HIV
incidence rates in the U.S.
were 40 percent higher than previously estimated, with over 55,000 new
infections occurring from 2003-2006. Nearly half of these occurred in the Black
community; communities of color overall accounted for 70 percent of all new
infections. Research conducted by the Government of the District
of Columbia, Department of Health, Division of HIV/AIDS showed
that Washington, which is predominantly
African American, has the highest rate of HIV infection in the U.S.,
with at least 3 percent of all residents living with either HIV or AIDS.
"Our focus on developing new leadership
around HIV/AIDS is an extension of our overall dedication to health care
reform," says Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.). "Through An Evening Without Politics, we hope to
educate the public about how supporting even small steps through health care
reform, such as the routinization of HIV testing and increased support for
HIV/AIDS programming, can save innumerable lives."
“We need a national, comprehensive and
coordinated strategy to address HIV/AIDS, a plan that requires the same level
of accountability and transparency that we demand of other countries when we
give them funding to address HIV/AIDS. As part of that strategy, we must
continue to address socio-economic disparities, such as unemployment, lack of
insurance, homelessness, poverty and lack of education, that have helped foster
the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., particularly in communities of color,” says
Kawata.
Members of the Congress Host
Committee are slated to attend “An Evening Without Politics,” including over 40
members of the Congress; Rep. James Clyburn; Sen. John
McCain; Sen. John Kerry; Sen. Richard Durbin; Sen. Arlen Specter; Sen. Roland
W. Burris;
Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College; and Debra L. Lee, CEO of Black
Entertainment Television.
Leaders who have made a
difference in addressing HIV/AIDS will be honored as well, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker;
Rep. Maxine Waters; Rep. Barbara Lee; Rep. Donna Christensen; Rep. Danny Davis;
Rep. Charles Rangel; Rep. Gregory W.
Meeks;
and India Clark, Howard
University peer educator.
Rev. Al Sharpton will address the gathering following the awards program.
Proceeds from the reception
will support NMAC’s capacity building and technical assistance programs for
minority community- and faith-based organizations in Washington, D.C.,
and the new HBCU HIV/AIDS Peer Education Initiative.
About
the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC)
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has
advanced its mission, "to develop leadership within communities of color
to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS" since 1987 through individualized
capacity building assistance; technical assistance trainings; public policy
education programs; national and regional conferences; treatment and research
education programs; online and printed resource materials; and a website:
www.nmac.org. The agency also serves as a membership association for its
constituents – AIDS service organizations and minority faith- and
community-based organizations delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of
color – and advocates on their behalf in Washington, D.C. NMAC's advocacy
efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. For more
information, please contact NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or
communications@nmac.org. You may find us online at www.nmac.org, and on
Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, MyPhotoAlbum and YouTube.
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