Defining a New Strategy to Combat HIV/AIDS in Minority Communities

Local civic leaders and community organizations gathered last Wednesday to encourage HIV testing and to develop a local strategy for a national pandemic that’s effecting thousand of local residents, especially those in the minority community.

The town hall style event at the Oak Park Community Center was part of the National Minority Health Month Foundation’s nation-wide “Test for Life” campaign.

“Our goal is to educate individuals on the importance of HIV testing,” said Abner Mason, founder and director of the AIDS Responsibility Project, who represented NMHMF at the event. “HIV testing is critical in preventing the spread of the disease and must become a part of routine medical care.”

More than 100 people crowded the community room to listen to a panel of local speakers discuss strategies to lower the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among African American and Hispanic American men and women.

“AIDS is a serious issue in California, especially in our minority communities,” said Betty Williams, President, NAACP, Sacramento Branch. “According to the CDC, approximately 28,000 Californians are infected with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, African Americans account for approximately 20 percent of new AIDS cases in the state and Hispanics account for over 33 percent of new AIDS cases.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are 1.1 million individuals in the U.S. living with HIV. Of these individuals, over 252,000 are unaware that they are infected with the disease. Additionally, almost half of all new HIV infections are caused by the individuals who are not aware of their status.

“Testing is the only way individuals will know their status,” continued Mason. “Too many Americans are unaware of their HIV infection and are unknowingly spreading the disease.

During a press conference prior to the town hall, elected officials shared similar concerns with the organizers. They also echoed the importance of communicating a new strategy to help combat the spread of the virus.

“We hope that this town hall will encourage individuals to have routine HIV tests, seek the needed medical care and ultimately help in preventing the spread of this disease,” concluded Mason.

Sponsoring Organizations and elected officials included; Assemblymember Dave Jones; Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, Sacramento City Councilmembers Sandy Sheedy, Lauren Hammond, Bonnie Pannell; Sacramento City Unified School District Board Member Roy Grimes; The National Minority Health Month Foundation (NMHMF); Test for Life California; Sacramento NAACP; 100 Black Men of Sacramento; Sacramento Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Faith Fellowship Community Church; The Sacramento AIDS Housing Alliance; Equality California Sacramento Chapter; LULAC, Lorenzo Patiño Council, The Gardens Family Care Community Center; The Sacramento Progressive Alliance; Sacramento Black Nurses Association; The Asian Pacific Islander Capitol Association; Alter Egos Hair Salon; DELTA SIGMA THETA Sacramento and Elk Grove Alumnae Chapters; and the Greater Sacramento Urban League.

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1998, the National Minority Health Month Foundation was established to strengthen national and local efforts to eliminate the disproportionate burden of premature death and preventable illness in racial and ethnic minorities and other special populations through the use of evidence-based, data-driven initiatives. The Foundation has developed a comprehensive relational data platform for identifying the prevalence of health-status and health-care disparities at the zip-code level. This centralized data warehouse allows the Foundation to house vital statistics; demographic, environmental, claims, prescription-drug, and clinical-laboratory values; health-care access points, and other data. The Foundation is thus able to measure and forecast health status in small geographic areas, evaluate the impact of specific interventions, monitor changes in health outcomes, and serve as a valuable resource for the health-disparities movement. For more information on the Test for Life campaign, visit http://www.testforlife.org.