Black leaders
draft national plan to halt AIDS

African-American leaders convened last week in Scottsdale, Ariz., to outline a plan to banish AIDS in five years among blacks.

"Our goal is ambitious," said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute. "But given the HIV and AIDS rates in black America, anything less would be immoral."

The summit comes weeks after the Centers for Disease Control released findings that black women are 20 times more likely to contract HIV than white women. Black men are seven times more likely than white men to contract the virus. A previous study by the CDC shows that 46% of black gay and bisexual men who resided in seven major urban areas studied are infected.

The four-step plan outlined by the committee encouraged increasing the percentage of African-Americans who are tested, administering care, and eliminating the stigma associated with dealing with AIDS.

Participants included the National Urban League, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, T.D. Jakes Ministries, the National Action Network, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. (The Advocate)