The Damien Center News: Tomorrow is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Tomorrow is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and here's the reality: of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV/AIDS affects Blacks the most. In 2009, an estimated 16,741 Blacks were diagnosed with AIDS in the U.S. By the end of 2008, an estimated 240,627 Blacks with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the US. In 2007, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death for all Blacks and the third leading cause of death for both Black men and Black women aged 35–44.

Listening yet? National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is one way we, as members of a community working toward an AIDS-free generation, can start doing something about these statistics. NBHAAD started as a grassroots effort to bring awareness to the severity of what HIV/AIDS and has grown into a nationwide effort to encourage people to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated.

While the number of new HIV infections per year among Blacks is down from its peak in the late 1980s, it still has exceeded the number of infections among whites since that time. Even more startling, at some point in their lifetimes, one in 16 Black men will be diagnosed with HIV infection, as will one in 32 Black women.

Having a better idea of how significant the HIV/AIDS epidemic is among the Black population in the U.S. sheds some light on why we should be addressing it. And the good thing is, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day makes it easy to get involved. Here are a few ways you can connect with NBHAAD and show your support:

So send a tweet, post a comment, or just follow along with the conversation. Knowledge is power!