Article/Column

December 1st was World AIDS Day – a time each year when committed people around the globe join to raise public awareness about this often deadly disease.

 

Our message was clear. Only an expanding, world-wide movement can defeat the most devastating pandemic of our time.

 

In Johannesburg, South Africa, Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela called for action in an address broadcast to millions around the world.

 

“It is alarming that for every person who receives treatment there are four others who are newly infected,” he observed. “Yes, big ambitious plans are needed to deal with the epidemic; but what really matters are small acts of kindness . . . such as protecting yourself.”

 

The former President’s insight was profound, and his call for personal empowerment in the struggle against HIV and AIDS was especially timely. Consider these facts:

 

Although we comprise only 13 percent of the U.S. population, African Americans account for 50 percent of the over 40,000 annual AIDS cases in this country.

 

The rate of new HIV diagnoses for Black adults and adolescents is 10 times that of whites – and when we compare Black and white women, that terrifying multiplier increases to 23.

 

As a direct consequence, AIDS is now the leading cause of death for African American women ages 25-34, and it is the second leading cause of death for African American men in the 35-44 age range.

 

These are alarming realities – threats to our communities that only we can confront and overcome.

 

What was once incorrectly described as a “gay disease” is now emerging as a “Black disease,” an epidemic within our community.

 

During 25 years of serving my community, I have been an outspoken advocate in our shared struggle against the devastation wrought by AIDS.  During that time, we have made substantial progress both in our understanding and in our treatment of this disease.

 

Yet, our journey toward a vaccine and a cure is nowhere near completion.

 

That is why we all must take Nelson Mandela’s core message seriously. The world cannot hide from the reality of this epidemic.

 

More than 32 million people worldwide are now suffering from HIV; and a majority of those infected by the virus are Black. For them and their loved ones, every day is AIDS Day.

 

So it must also be for us all.

 

We must raise awareness about this epidemic and its impact within our own communities. For example, we need to understand that, although African Americans have no unusual genetic vulnerability to this disease, socio-economic and, to some degree, cultural factors make the danger especially deadly.

 

Paradoxically, this analysis offers hope. Through effective mobilization, we ourselves have the power to control our own destiny.

 

We do not yet have a “cure” for HIV/AIDS. Prevention remains the key, and to more effectively prevent the spread of the disease, we must be unafraid to speak openly about some very uncomfortable realities.

 

Here are some key facts.

 

The number one source of infection among African Americans is unprotected sexual intimacy.

 

Among our men, this danger is unacceptably pronounced among those who are engaged in unprotected homosexual activity. In fact, according to a 2005 study of 12 American cities by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black men in Baltimore who had sexual contact with other men had the highest rate of new HIV infections in the country.

 

Of course, the only certain way to prevent contracting a sexually transmitted disease is through abstinence. This is why we must continue to stress to our young people the importance of waiting until marriage to engage in sexual activity.

 

However, we must also respond to the reality that not everyone will heed this advice. That is why the parallel message of self-protection is so critical to the health of our community.

 

Silence in the face of this danger can be deadly.

 

There is another reality that we must confront and overcome. The second most common cause of HIV infection is “needle sharing.”

 

We all know that it is dangerous to inject drugs – in addition to being an illegal activity. Yet, addiction is a fact of life for thousands of people in every American city.