PINPOINT HIV PREVENTION MESSAGE

The picture of AIDS in the United States, two decades after the
epidemic began, becomes clearer each year; this is a disease that
disproportionately hits African-Americans and gay men. It makes
sense to aim prevention programs, testing and treatment plans at the
populations most affected.

The latest yearly report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention shows that while the overall HIV infection
rate declined slightly for African-Americans in recent years, blacks
continue to be diagnosed with the infection at a rate eight times
higher than whites. The HIV rate continues to climb for men of all
races who have sex with other men.

The falling overall infection rate among blacks in the United States
appears related to the decline in the infection rate for intravenous
drug users and heterosexuals, CDC researchers said. That could
indicate that some controversial prevention programs such as New
York's government-funded needle exchange program may finally be paying off.

It also provides hope that targeted prevention and treatment
programs aimed, for instance, at black males who have sex with other
men, could eventually have an impact. Men who have sex with men
account for 44 percent of all new HIV cases, the CDC said, and many
of these new cases are among African-Americans.

Of course, prevention and testing programs have no impact at all
unless individuals are willing to change risky behavior. That
highlights the importance of groups in the black community that
emphasize safe sex and make quick HIV tests available for free.

Studies show that as many as 25 percent of those living with HIV are
unaware they are infected. Get to them with the right message and
the information they need and the epidemic may finally be brought
under control.