Emory University Joins Metro Atlanta in Recognition of Third Annual
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Nationwide Campaign Seeks to Mobilize the Black Community in the Fight
Against AIDS
ATLANTA -- The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community
has reached epidemic proportions accounting for 38% of the AIDS reported
cases in the country, while comprising only 12% of the U.S. population.
In Georgia, African-Americans accounted for 61% of the total 21,477
AIDS cases from 1981 to December 1999. The Georgia Office of Minority
Health also reports that almost 58% of AIDS cases in metro Atlanta were
among African-Americans. It is the number one killer of African-American
men and women, ages 25-44, in the U.S.
Emory University will join
the Atlanta area and more than 150 communities in more than 60 cities
across the United States to participate in the nation’s third annual
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) on February 7, 2003.
The day is meant to call attention to the AIDS problem and seek solutions
to halt the epidemic. Local HIV/AIDS organizations and civic groups
across the country will aim to mobilize the black community in the fight
against AIDS by conducting educational and outreach programs in their
communities (including free HIV testing), town meetings and youth rallies.
EMORY CENTER FOR AIDS RESEARCH
The Emory Center for AIDS
Research (CFAR) will host a seminar, "Incorporating Faith in HIV/AIDS
Research" on Thursday, January 30 from 12 2 p.m. Speakers include
experts from Howard University, the Alpha and Omega HIV/AIDS Foundation
and Health Initiatives, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). The event will be held at the Rollins School of Public Health
at Emory University, Rita Ann Rollins Room 860, 1518 Clifton Road. (404)
712-8461.
"This seminar is an opportunity
for CFAR and the Atlanta community to come together collectively to
promote effective HIV prevention strategies," says Lawrence Bryant,
supervisor and research coordinator for the Behavioral Science Core
of the Center for AIDS Research. "This includes provision of an educational
forum that provides for discussion and dialogue about how the faith
community can help to prevent the spread of AIDS."
The mission of the Emory
Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is to foster and enhance HIV/AIDS research
efforts designed to prevent or mitigate the suffering caused by HIV
and AIDS. The Emory CFAR includes more than 120 faculty who engage in
HIV/AIDS research.
SCENARIOS FROM THE SAHEL
In Africa, 1.7 million young
people contract HIV every year. Kate Winskell, of Emory’s Center for
Health Culture and Society (and currently an adjunct professor in the
Rollins School of Public Health, International Health Department), co-manages
the video project of short fiction films on HIV/AIDS. The films by
leading African directors -- are created with and for young people in
the Sahel region of West Africa. They are broadcast on television and
used as an educational tool in schools and communities throughout Africa
and beyond.
"It’s important for young
people worldwide to be given a chance to make their voices heard and
express their creativity," Winskell says. "They need to be given the
opportunity to make a difference."
The selected short films
will be shown on February 3 from 7-9 p.m. at the Martin Luther King,
Jr. National Historical Site, 450 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta.
HOPE CLINIC OPEN HOUSE
The Hope Clinic of the Emory
Vaccine Center will hold an open house on Thursday, February 6 from
6:30 8:00 p.m. 603 Church Street, Decatur. The public is invited to
learn more about community involvement in HIV research and vaccine trials
that are underway in Atlanta.
"Those of us at the Hope
Clinic are proud to participate in National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness
Day events. We believe that it is necessary for the community to be
our partner in the conduct of scientific research," says Mark Feinberg,
MD, PhD, medical director of the Hope Clinic. "It is important for everyone
to be involved in the process to equally share the benefits of medical
advances. Change comes through involvement, and the Hope Clinic encourages
the entire community to join the efforts of vaccine research."
The Hope Clinic is a community-based
clinical research facility specifically devoted to the conduct of clinical
trials of promising new vaccines. For more information about the Hope
Clinic, visit www.hopeclinic.emory.edu
or call 877-424-HOPE.
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT & VACCINE
SCIENCE DISPLAY
The Hope for Humanity: The
Quest For An AIDS Vaccine exhibit was organized by the Hope Clinic in
collaboration with Humanitarian Endeavors and the Fernbank Science Center.
The free exhibit features the photographs of Andrew Petkun that depict
the personal quiet suffering caused by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
A second component of this exhibition looks at the need for and development
of HIV vaccines. The exhibit will run until February 17, 2003 at the
Fernbank Science Center. 156 Heaton Park, Atlanta. (404) 378-4311. |