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HIV FACTS: EDUCATE YOURSELF
Dr. Charles Njoku.
CEO Chioma Entertainment Group
 You Are At Risk If:
- You have oral, vaginal, anal sex without a latex condom.
- You have sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disease, including HIV, Gonorrhea, Herpes, Syphillis, Clamidia.
- You share needles for drugs or tattoos.
You can be tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases by a simple blood test.
Visit your doctor or call the AIDS HOT LINE 24/7: 1-800-342-AIDS.
If you test positive, medicines are available to help you fight the virus.
Protect yourself and others, practice safe sex, use a latex condom during any type of sex, be very discrete, mature and be in control of your hormones surge. Avoid sharing needles and dispose used needles properly. Inquire about the sexual history of your partner or partners, and most importantly EDUCATE YOUR SELF.
The Cumulative Effect of HIV/AIDS: According to the 2000 Census, African Americans make up 12.3% of the population of the United States. However, they have accounted for 39% -- more than 347,000 – of the more than 886,000 estimated AIDS cases diagnosed since the beginning of the epidemic. By the end of December 2002, more than 185,000 African Americans had died with AIDS.
- For the people diagnosed with AIDS since 1994, African Americans had the poorest survival rates of all racial and ethnic groups, with 55% surviving after 9 years compared to 61% of Hispanics, 64% of whites, and 69% of Asian/Pacific Islanders.
- In 2000, HIV/AIDS was among the top three causes of death for African American men ages 25-54 and African American women ages 35-44.
AIDS in 2002: African Americans accounted for about 21,000, or 50%, of the more than 42,000 estimated AIDS cases diagnosed among adults in the United States.
- The AIDS diagnosis rate among African Americans was almost 11 times the rate among whites. African American women had a 23 times greater diagnosis rate than white women. African American men had almost a 9 times greater rate of AIDS diagnosis than white men.
- Over 162,000 African American were living with AIDS in the United States. They accounted for 42% of all people in the United States living with AIDS.
HIV in 2002: African Americans accounted for over half of the new HIV diagnoses reported in the United States.
- A study of people diagnosed with HIV found that 56% of “late testers,” i.e., those that were diagnosed with AIDS within one year of their HIV diagnosis, were African American. Late testing represents missed opportunities in prevention and treatment of HIV.
- The leading cause of HIV infection among African American men is sexual content with other men, followed by inject drug use and heterosexual contact.
- The leading cause of HIV infection among African American women is heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
- Sixty-two percent of children born to HIV-infected mothers were African American.
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