March 09, 2006
“Good morning and thank you Cheryl for that introduction. I want to first thank the National Council of Negro Women, the Black AIDS Institute, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the National Minority AIDS Council, the AIDS Alliance for Children Youth and Families and all the sponsoring and participating organizations in this press conference.
“We are all here today in advance of the first annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day tomorrow to highlight the impact of this disease on African American women and to demand real, credible solutions from Congress and the Administration.
“Today the face of AIDS in America is increasingly the face of an African American woman.
“Among all women, African Americans are twenty-five times more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS than white women and four times more likely than Hispanic women.
“For me and for all our speakers today, these women are not statistics. These are our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters, and we refuse to accept the idea that nothing can be done to stop the terrible toll that AIDS is taking on them and our community.
“That’s why we are here today, to convey the urgent need for action.
“The bottom line is that our response to this epidemic over the last five years has been inadequate.
“We need to immediately re-authorize and strengthen the Ryan White CARE Act by providing an increase of $688 million this year to:
“We’ve got to increase funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative to at least $610 million this year. This important program directly supports capacity building and culturally competent outreach to African Americans and other minority communities.
“By substantially increasing funding for both these programs we can make a direct impact in the lives of African American women living with HIV/AIDS and help protect those who are still vulnerable tot his disease.
“But to make these programs truly successful, we’ve got to soundly reject the President’s drastic $5 billion cut to Medicaid.
“These programs care for over 55 percent of all people living with AIDS and make a big difference in the daily lives of African American women.
“At the same time we’ve got to approach prevention in a comprehensive manner, because prevention is the key to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“Increasingly our kids are getting infected with HIV/AIDS at a younger age—two thirds of them African American. As result they are dying of AIDS at an earlier age.
“Today AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women between the ages of 25-34, and the third leading cause of death for ages 35-44. These are women in the prime of their lives, struck down by AIDS because they didn’t learn how to protect themselves against HIV at an early age.
“We can no longer afford to entrust our children’s lives to unproven abstinence-only-until marriage programs that deny children lifesaving prevention information.
“We’ve got to pass my bill, H.R. 2553, the Responsible Education About Life act to empower our youth, to teach them comprehensive sexuality education, and to give them the knowledge and the tools to protect themselves from HIV.
“Together these initiatives will have a substantial impact on the health of African American women and girls, and all Americans.
“For the sake of all those living and dying of AIDS, I urge my colleagues to join me and help put a stop to this global pandemic.”
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Barbara Lee, CBC Women Speak Out on Addressing the Disparate Impact of HIV/AIDS on African American Women
(Washington, DC) – On the eve of first annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus and representatives from the Black AIDS Institute, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and Women in NAACP in highlighting the disparate impact of HIV/AIDS on African American women, and calling for action from the administration and Congress at a press conference on Capitol Hill. The following is her statement:“Good morning and thank you Cheryl for that introduction. I want to first thank the National Council of Negro Women, the Black AIDS Institute, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the National Minority AIDS Council, the AIDS Alliance for Children Youth and Families and all the sponsoring and participating organizations in this press conference.
“We are all here today in advance of the first annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day tomorrow to highlight the impact of this disease on African American women and to demand real, credible solutions from Congress and the Administration.
“Today the face of AIDS in America is increasingly the face of an African American woman.
“Among all women, African Americans are twenty-five times more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS than white women and four times more likely than Hispanic women.
“For me and for all our speakers today, these women are not statistics. These are our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters, and we refuse to accept the idea that nothing can be done to stop the terrible toll that AIDS is taking on them and our community.
“That’s why we are here today, to convey the urgent need for action.
“The bottom line is that our response to this epidemic over the last five years has been inadequate.
“We need to immediately re-authorize and strengthen the Ryan White CARE Act by providing an increase of $688 million this year to:
- End the waiting lists for drug treatment that are denying people access to lifesaving drugs.
- Expand voluntary counseling and rapid testing, to help steer HIV positive individuals into care and encourage behavior modifications.
- And provide wraparound care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
“We’ve got to increase funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative to at least $610 million this year. This important program directly supports capacity building and culturally competent outreach to African Americans and other minority communities.
“By substantially increasing funding for both these programs we can make a direct impact in the lives of African American women living with HIV/AIDS and help protect those who are still vulnerable tot his disease.
“But to make these programs truly successful, we’ve got to soundly reject the President’s drastic $5 billion cut to Medicaid.
“These programs care for over 55 percent of all people living with AIDS and make a big difference in the daily lives of African American women.
“At the same time we’ve got to approach prevention in a comprehensive manner, because prevention is the key to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“Increasingly our kids are getting infected with HIV/AIDS at a younger age—two thirds of them African American. As result they are dying of AIDS at an earlier age.
“Today AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women between the ages of 25-34, and the third leading cause of death for ages 35-44. These are women in the prime of their lives, struck down by AIDS because they didn’t learn how to protect themselves against HIV at an early age.
“We can no longer afford to entrust our children’s lives to unproven abstinence-only-until marriage programs that deny children lifesaving prevention information.
“We’ve got to pass my bill, H.R. 2553, the Responsible Education About Life act to empower our youth, to teach them comprehensive sexuality education, and to give them the knowledge and the tools to protect themselves from HIV.
“Together these initiatives will have a substantial impact on the health of African American women and girls, and all Americans.
“For the sake of all those living and dying of AIDS, I urge my colleagues to join me and help put a stop to this global pandemic.”