National Minority Health Month Foundation Calls for Routine HIV Testing

In observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Gary Puckrein, PhD, executive director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation, today released the following statement:

"As we recognize National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, it is my hope that all members of the African American community will support and encourage routine HIV testing. Routine HIV testing is the only way we will be able to bring the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control, and it is key to preventing the spread of the disease.

"African Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, yet they account for half of the new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States. Since the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed in the United States, more than 200,000 African Americans with AIDS have died.

"HIV/AIDS is also disproportionately affecting African American women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American women is nearly 24 times the rate for white women.

"HIV/AIDS is devastating the African American community. However, through routine testing and early diagnosis, we can prevent the spread of this disease. People who are aware of their HIV status are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors and less likely to infect others. Early diagnosis is essential to ensuring that individuals who are infected with HIV receive lifesaving medical treatment.

"The Foundation recently launched our 2007 Test for Life Campaign, a nationwide effort to encourage routine HIV testing. In addition to raising awareness, we are bringing together state health officials, HIV/AIDS activists, and state legislators to discuss how states can ensure that HIV testing becomes a part of routine medical care."

About the National Minority Health Month Foundation

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.