National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2010

February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day (NBHAAD). This annual observance day was created to raise awareness among African Americans about HIV/AIDS and its devastating impact on African American communities. The day is part of a national mobilization effort to get African Americans to learn more about the threat posed by the disease, get tested, get treated and make a commitment to fight HIV/AIDS. Here in Washington, DC there is no question that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Although African Americans comprised 57% of District residents in 2006, they accounted for 81% of all new reports of HIV cases and all living AIDS cases. Further, of the 842 cases of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men from 2001 to 2006, 63% were among black men.