Support for Women With AIDS

Protecting Health & Communities With HIV Testing

Mar 8, 2009 Rhonda Campbell

HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death amongst African American women between the ages of 25-44. HIV testing is a key to lowering and diminishing these deaths.

Around the entire globe and as reported in a CNN World AIDS Day December 2008 article, nearly 33 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2007. In the United States there has been a rise in African American women who test positive for HIV/AIDS. One link to the rise involves the penal system.

The Sentencing Project in Washington returned a report that states nearly 30 percent of African American men in their twenties have/are being affected by the penal system. When one considers the high numbers of incarcerated men infected with HIV/AIDS, the connection between the penal system and HIV/AIDS incidences among African American women is clear.

Stigma and Other Factors

Further accelerating the disease around the globe is the continuing stigma that accompanies the disease. HIV/AIDS is not seen in the same light as other diseases. Patients with HIV/AIDS are not viewed the same as patients affected by cancer or heart disease. Yet, either way humans die whether they are affected by high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer or HIV/AIDS. The outcome is the same. Lives are threatened or shortened.

The National Black Women’s Health Project is an organization that is educating African American women about HIV/AIDS to educate about the importance of HIV testing and overall healthcare for people with HIV or AIDS. Working to heal and break down stigmas, their motto is that they “seek to improve the health of black women by providing wellness education and services, health information and advocacy.” The organization was started in 1981 by Byllye Avery.

Their first conference was held at Spelman College. That year’s conference theme was that they were “sick and tired of being sick and tired”, a quote made famous by the great civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer. To contact the National Black Women’s Health Project, readers can visit the organization’s website. Based out of Washington, DC, the organization is strengthened each time someone joins the victory toward eradicating diseases and issues that weaken the world’s communities.

Additional Help and Assistance

Several other organizations also work toward victory over HIV and AIDS both in the United States and abroad. Churches are being asked to teach about the disease and to assist in other ways that heal pockets where AIDS has ravaged. One such organization is UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) online.

Another is the AIDS Campaign Team for Africa which operates out of Washington, DC. Africa.org is another organization that actively works to find healing for Africa. In the United States there are also volunteer agencies in need of volunteers to help push toward victory over HIV and AIDS through HIV testing and education.

Among these organizations are: the AIDS Council, AIDS Care Teams and the Outreach Community Care Network. Interested persons can contact the National AIDS Hotline (800-342-2437) and let them know that they are interested in joining the victory over HIV/AIDS.

The copyright of the article Support for Women With AIDS in Women’s Health is owned by Rhonda Campbell. Permission to republish Support for Women With AIDS in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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