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On Tuesday in Miami’s Liberty City,
the national Black AIDS Institute and local activists announced the launch of a
new public-private treatment and training outreach to fight the epidemic in
south Florida. BAI will invest $50,000 to $70,000 to train local residents in
HIV science, community mobilization and sustainability.
Since 2010, BAI has implemented
Black Treatment Advocates Networks in Atlanta; Chicago; Houston; Jackson,
Miss.; Los Angeles; and Philadelphia. The new BTANs will be based in Miami and
Fort Lauderdale.
“The South Florida AIDS community is
one of the most heavily impacted communities in the country,” said BAI
President and CEO Phill Wilson. “With the nexus here, the connection between
the Caribbean and the black community and the Latino community is a perfect
place to do this kind of project.” Blacks accounted for 20 percent of
Miami-Dade’s population but 52 percent of its AIDS cases and 44.7 percent of
HIV cases through December 2008, county health department data show.
Charles Martin, executive director
of the South Beach AIDS Project, said one in four black men who have sex with
men in Miami are HIV-infected. “We as a group of people are not looking at the
red flag right in front of us,” he said. “The reason we’re not doing good is
because we haven’t really entered the fight. There comes a time when we as a
people ... have to learn to look at HIV and AIDS and realize that this is one
of the most pressing issues for the black community and this country today.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
