Statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on World AIDS Day On December 1, World AIDS Day, we remember those we have lost, but also celebrate the remarkable progress made in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. When the first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988, we could not imagine the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For those diagnosed with HIV infection, the future was bleak. This year, the picture is very different. Scientific advances in understanding HIV, and an increasing number … [Read more...]
Celebrate HHS: Approaching 30 Years of HIV/AIDS in the United States
Approaching 30 Years of HIV/AIDS in the United States In less than two months, we will mark the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of what we now know as AIDS. In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rare form of pneumonia diagnosed in five, previously healthy, gay men from Los Angeles. The report raised concerns that these five men had been exposed to something that caused their profound immune suppression. Now we know that their … [Read more...]
We All Have Important Roles to Play: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – February 7, 2011
As we approach the 11th annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) on February 7th, we are reminded that the impact of HIV is greater among Blacks than any other racial/ethnic group in the United States. African Americans represent 13 percent of the U.S. population; but 46 percent of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States are Black (that’s more than 500,000 African Americans living with HIV in the U.S. today). For more information … [Read more...]