‘AIDS has become a black disease’

BROWN TORONTO – It is time for the African-American community “to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease” and find ways to defeat it, said the chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the international AIDS summit on Monday.

Julian Bond, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other powerful African-American leaders called on their own community to accept responsibility for ending the devastation of AIDS, which has claimed more than 200 000 black Americans since the epidemic began 25 years ago.In a first for the political leaders, they blamed the disaster on a lack of will and pledged to do more.”The story of AIDS in America is mostly one of a failure to lead and nowhere is this truer than in our black communities,” said Bond, chairman of the NAACP.”We have led successful responses to many other challenges in the past.Now is the time for us to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease.”According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-Americans account for half of all new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.It is the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 25 to 34.Overall, blacks are seven times more likely to die from AIDS than other at-risk groups.”Because of poverty, ignorance and prejudice, AIDS has been allowed to stalk and kill black America like a serial killer,” said Jackson, chairman of Rainbow Push Coalition.Jackson didn’t make the conference, but issued a statement of support with the other leaders.The US black delegation pledged to draft a five-year plan to reduce HIV rates among African-Americans and to boost the percentage of those who get tests and learn their HIV status.Nampa-APJesse Jackson and other powerful African-American leaders called on their own community to accept responsibility for ending the devastation of AIDS, which has claimed more than 200 000 black Americans since the epidemic began 25 years ago.In a first for the political leaders, they blamed the disaster on a lack of will and pledged to do more.”The story of AIDS in America is mostly one of a failure to lead and nowhere is this truer than in our black communities,” said Bond, chairman of the NAACP.”We have led successful responses to many other challenges in the past.Now is the time for us to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease.”According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-Americans account for half of all new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.It is the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 25 to 34.Overall, blacks are seven times more likely to die from AIDS than other at-risk groups.”Because of poverty, ignorance and prejudice, AIDS has been allowed to stalk and kill black America like a serial killer,” said Jackson, chairman of Rainbow Push Coalition.Jackson didn’t make the conference, but issued a statement of support with the other leaders.The US black delegation pledged to draft a five-year plan to reduce HIV rates among African-Americans and to boost the percentage of those who get tests and learn their HIV status.Nampa-AP