August 29, 2011 | Health Matters

CDC launches AIDS prevention campaign aimed at young black men

When the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest estimates of HIV infection earlier this month, it found a burgeoning epidemic among young black gay and bisexual men. Now federal health officials have rolled out a rare national campaign targeting this group.

The CDC cites several reasons for this trend:
- limited access to both HIV testing and sexual health education;
- stigma surrounding HIV and homosexuality that has gone unchallenged in communities of color;
- a higher incidence rate of other STDs, which have been show to facilitate transmission of HIV.

However public health has been slow to target gay and bisexual men of color and one of the biggest concerns for prevention campaigns of all sorts now is funding, which has been slashed due to budget shortfalls at all levels of government.

CDC officials say they will meet the increasing budget constraints by targeting resources where they are most urgently needed. That includes a national campaign to encourage HIV testing among black men who have sex with men, and to counter both homophobia and stigma around HIV among black men.

'Bout bloody time!

Federal health officials push ‘strength through affirmation’ of black gay men [Color Lines]