The need to prevent HIV couldn't be more urgent. With an estimated 39.4 million people worldwide living with HIV at the end of 2004, and more than 20 million lives lost to AIDS since 1981, December 1st serves to remind everyone that action makes a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Americans should be reminded that HIV/AIDS does not discriminate. With an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S. and 35,000 to 40,000 new infections occurring every year, the U.S., like other nations around the world is deeply affected by HIV/AIDS.

Here's another important fact. The disproportionate burden of AIDS affects racial and ethnic minorities across the age spectrum. Racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States, primarily African Americans and Hispanics, constitute 58 percent of the more than 928,188 cases of AIDS reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since the epidemic began in 1981. African Americans make up 50 percent of all AIDS cases reported in the United States, yet according to the U.S. Census Bureau, they comprise only 12 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics represent 15 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States and are approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population.

Injection drug use is a major factor in the spread of HIV in minority communities. Other factors contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities include men who have sex with men (MSM) and increasingly, heterosexual transmission.

According to CDC:

• As of December 2003, African Americans and Hispanics represented 64 percent of males living with AIDS and 83 percent of those in females.
• As of December 2003, 67 percent of all women reported with AIDS are African American and 16 percent are Hispanic.
• African-American children represent almost 71 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases.
• Of the 59 pediatric AIDS cases reported in 2003, 40 were in African Americans and 7 were in Hispanics.
• AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American men ages 25-44.

The Good News

There is good news. HIV is preventable. The Federal Government promotes the A-B-C- prevention method pioneered in Uganda, Africa. The initials stand for Abstinence, Being faithful in a mutually monogamous relationship if you are sexually active, and consistent and correct condom use if you are not using A or B. The A-B-C method is comprehensive and designed to fit real lifestyles. With A-B-C, you have options that work.

Another way to prevent HIV is to get tested, get your results, and encourage your partner and loved ones to do the same. With the availability of rapid testing, you can get tested and know your status in under 30 minutes. What's more, HIV testing is confidential and opens the door to HIV prevention, early detection, and early treatment. To learn more about HIV/AIDS and the benefits of testing, please visit the CDC. To find a free testing site near you, click on CDC's national testing site.

Today can be the day that you personally decide to help prevent the spread of HIV. Start now. Join the millions of Americans on December 1st - World AIDS Day. Pass the word, and visit the HHS Office of Minority Health for more information.

We encourage you to visit this Web site and download materials, such as fact sheets that provide HIV/AIDS statistics and the new World AIDS Day poster, to assist in your efforts to educate, motivate and mobilize your local community in the fight against HIV/AIDS!

For more information on HIV/AIDS, visit:

The Office of Minority Health
http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=22

HIV Infection and AIDS: An Overview
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/hivinf.htm

HIV, AIDS, and Older People
http://www.niapublications.org/engagepages/aids.asp : Spanish translation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Global AIDS Program
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/gap/WAD.htm