National Initiative Launched to Mobilize African Americans Against HIV/AIDS
National Initiative Launched to Mobilize African Americans Against HIV/AIDS
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has announced the launch of a national effort designed to mobilize African Americans and promote calls to action to prevent and reduce the further spread of HIV/AIDS.
Organized by the Black AIDS Media Partnership, a coalition of leading media companies, in collaboration with the CDC's Act Against AIDS campaign, the Greater Than AIDS initiative will broadcast public service ads to help strengthen a sense of community response by African Americans to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Launched to coincide with National HIV Testing Day on June 27, the initiative focuses on six actions: being informed, using condoms, speaking openly, acting with respect, getting involved, and seeking testing and treatment.
The first wave of Greater Than AIDS content will include radio, outdoor, print, and online messages promoted by a handful of companies and associations, including American Urban Radio Networks, Clear Channel Communications, ESSENCE Communications, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Television content is scheduled for release in the fall. The Kaiser Foundation, the Black AIDS Institute, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and other organizations will provide strategic leadership, guidance, and technical assistance for the initiative.
According to foundation officials, AIDS has disproportionately affected African Americans, who today account for nearly half of new HIV infections in the United States despite being only 12 percent of the population. Some 500,000 African Americans are estimated to be living with HIV, with those infected facing greater barriers to care and treatment and a greater likelihood of dying of AIDS than other racial or ethnic groups.
"The central idea behind the campaign is to remind us as black Americans that we are greater than any challenge we have ever faced, and that we are Greater Than AIDS as well," said Black AIDS Institute founder and CEO Phill Wilson. "It is about a shared responsibility in the face of AIDS — and hope for the possibility of an HIV-free future."
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