Ingham County has the second highest HIV rate in Michigan. Only Wayne County has a higher rate. However, the burden of HIV falls disproportionately on the African American community. The rate of HIV in the African American community in Ingham County is five times higher than in the White community. African American men are the only group that continues to experience sharp increases.
There is hope. HIV and AIDS are no longer a death sentence. The rate of deaths among African American men has fallen substantially (40% since 2001). The key is testing: identify the disease and begin treatment.
In response, representatives of the African American faith community and their allies are coming together to encourage churches and other houses of worship to provide a comprehensive sexual health message that will encourage abstinence, condom use and testing. As a result it is hoped the faith-based community will welcome HIV positive people and people whose lifestyles may place them at risk.
This effort kicks off with a community discussion and media event from 5:30 7:30 PM, Thursday, February 17th in Conference Room A, second floor of the Human Services Building, 5303 South Cedar Street, in Lansing. A light meal will be served
At the event, Andrea Collier, Rosalyn Worthy of Gospel Against AIDS, Kaye McDuffie of the Lansing Area AIDS Network, Dr. Renee Canady and Peter Gulick, MD of the Health Department will speak about the HIV crisis and the effort to promote testing. The speakers will be available for interviews.
Joining the speakers will be guests from Positive Perspectives, an organization sponsored by the Michigan Department of Community Health. These guests, who are living with HIV/AIDS, will talk about their experiences. These guests want to have their confidentiality protected and will not be available for film or photographs.
Nationally, Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day features a multimedia materials aimed at reaching youth of color including events on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and other venues. Goto www.blackaidsday.org for more information.
