White House Meeting on Black Men and HIV
Gregorio Millett, White House Office of National AIDS Policy, June 4, 2010

The toll of the HIV epidemic among Black men in the United States is staggering. CDC estimates that 1 in 16 Black men will become infected with HIV in their lifetime. An estimated two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Black community are men, and Black men in some U.S. cities have HIV rates as high as heavily impacted countries in Africa. According to CDC, Black gay and bisexual men are the most heavily impacted population in the Black community. One study in five major U.S. cities found that as many as half of all Black gay men in these communities were living with HIV. Although not as heavily impacted, Black heterosexual men are also at high risk for HIV infection through heterosexual sex and injection drug use.

On June 2, 2010, The Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) convened a meeting at the White House on Black Men and HIV (watch here). The meeting included black men living with HIV, experts on HIV/AIDS, Federal, State, and local policymakers, community-based service providers, representatives from foundations, and leaders from across the black community’s civil rights and faith organizations. The purpose of the meeting was to raise awareness about the domestic HIV epidemic among Black men, discuss government and community responses to the epidemic, and promote a conversation among diverse elements of the Black community. The meeting is part of a series of discussions that have been hosted by ONAP over the past year. Past meetings have focused on HIV among women, youth, and other topics. (Read the full article)