February 7, 2012 marks the 12th year for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a national community mobilization initiative that focuses on promoting HIV education, testing, involvement, and treatment to African Americans, who are disproportionately at risk for HIV/AIDS. As part of the Federal observance of NBHAAD, I spoke with three people who are helping to lead the response to HIV/AIDS in the African American community. They included:
- Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention , at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Dr. Deborah Parham Hopson, Associate Administrator, HIV/AIDS Bureau, at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- Mr. Ronald Johnson, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, AIDS United.
Each of the interviewees had an opportunity to discuss how NBHAAD can make communities more effective in responding to HIV/AIDS.
I also sat down with Reverend Edwin Sanders, Senior Servant at the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, Tennessee to talk about the role of faith-based organizations in facing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Reverend Sanders spoke about the importance of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy in the faith community and gave examples of how the faith community is using the NHAS.
It is important that we focus our attention on those environmental, psychological, biological and economical factors, in pariticular, hormones that influence sexual behavior in the African American Community.
I feel the reason is, they think it can’t happen to them, they don’t believe it. Which stupid, no matter how loud you Preach it.