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Black Leadership Commission on AIDS of Detroit Joins
Nationwide Response to AIDS Crisis among African
Americans
Detroit Area has 10th Highest Incidences of HIV/AIDS,
Nationally
 In
observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD),
the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS of Detroit (BLCA
of Detroit), the Detroit Department of Health and
Wellness Promotion and local African American community
leaders held a press conference to address the critical
need for a “Fair Share” in funding allocations for the
city of Detroit. The press conference highlighted the
urgent needs of African Americans infected and affected
by HIV and AIDS, other chronic diseases and the
ethnic/racial health disparities on African Americans in
Detroit. Press conference participants included: Rev.
Horace L. Sheffield, III, chair, BLCA of Detroit; Linda
D. Gillam, MD., prevention manager, Detroit Department
of Health; and Charles Pugh, broadcaster and activist.
The conference took place on Thursday, February 7, 2008
at Herman Kiefer Health Complex’s Auditorium (lower
level) in Detroit. The theme for the national awareness
day and goal of the press conference was to encourage
the community to “Get tested, Educated, Treated and
Involved”.
According to the chair of the BLCA of Detroit the Rev.
Horace Sheffield III “community leaders are calling upon
the state to ensure that service providers in the city
of Detroit receive their fair share in funding
proportionate to the city’s disease burden HIV/AIDS and
other concurrent epidemics affecting our community.”
There are an estimated 8,000 people living with HIV/AIDS
in the Detroit area’s African American community.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the Detroit
area has the 10th highest incidence of HIV/AIDS
infections in the nation. While the Detroit area makes
up 64 percent of all people currently living with HIV in
Michigan, they only make up 45 percent of the state’s
population, according to the Michigan Department of
Community Health’s 2006 epidemiologic profile of
HIV/AIDS in Michigan.
“We have the capacity in Detroit to help address the
disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on African Americans
in our community, said Dr. Renee McCoy, director,
HIV/AIDS Program, Detroit Department of Health and
Wellness Promotion. “Getting tested is essential to
living with the disease because the sooner you know your
status, the sooner you can begin treatments. Testing is
also an important step in the prevention of HIV/AIDS,”
McCoy added.
As part of the Awareness Day activities, the Detroit
Department of Health and Wellness Promotion offered free
Rapid HIV Testing from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in a mobile unit
at the Herman Kiefer Health Complex. Rapid HIV Testing
can help reduce unrecognized infections by improving
access to testing in both clinical and non-clinical
settings and increase the proportion of those tested who
learn their results. Testing is confidential and takes
40 minutes to complete. Counselors were available to
answer questions about HIV/AIDS and to make referrals to
health services available at the Department.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was directed,
planned and strategically overseen by eight national
organizations, including the National Black Leadership
Commission on AIDS and the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention. These groups worked in partnership with
organizations and planners across the United States to
ensure that planned activities and events are successful
and have the needed support.
On Sunday, February 10, 2008, in observance of NBHAAD,
an ecumenical and awards service was held at New Galilee
Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.
For more information about the BLCA of Detroit and the
NBHAAD events, contact Devine Brown, Affiliate
Coordinator, at 313.491.0222.
On the web:
www.blackaidsday.org
www.nblca.org
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