Dr. Hilda Hutcherson (Image: Courtesy of Hutcherson)

Sex. Sex. Sex. That word can bring reactions of pleasure, ire or shame. But when it comes to the working woman, a healthy, fulfilling sex life can be as vital as the perfect resume, power suit, or business plan. BlackEnterprise.com talked with Dr. Hilda Hutcherson, author, sexual health and women’s empowerment advocate, on why healthy sex practices and confidence are not only good for your mind and body, but even better for your bottom line.

BlackEnterprise.com: What are the first three steps to nurturing and protecting your sexual health as a woman?

Hutcherson:

• First, love yourself. When you love yourself, you’re going to make sure you protect your body. You’ll protect your body from STDs, unwanted pregnancy, and your heart [in order to deal with relationship issues such as] the pain of rejection if he doesn’t call you the next day.

• Use condoms. We know that this protects you from most STDs that can cause you great harm, or dramatically decrease chances of getting diseases such as HIV and HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer.

• Get to know your body and love it. Understand how it works and what brings you pleasure. Walk around your house naked and look at your body parts. Change any negative thoughts about how you look and think of the positives–the parts that you love.  [If it's a matter of weight,] do something about it. Start exercising and toning. Exercise can increases your stamina and flexibility so you can try new things, and also increase certain hormones such as endorphins that make you feel better, and testosterone, which is connected to desire.

How important is it for a working woman to have a good, healthy sex life?

It’s important because we know from studies, women who have healthy, satisfying sex lives are less stressed and have decreased anxiety and depression. As a professional woman, you come across a lot of stress. Women with a satisfying sex life seem to be able to cope better with it. And when you’re happy, you do a better job.

How can having unhealthy sexual habits affect a woman negatively in the workplace, as well as financially?

Healthy sex practices can not only save your life, but also your wallet (Image: Thinkstock)

There is the risk of getting infections that don’t have symptoms until they cause serious health conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or infertility, which can lead to missing work because of complications. It can be a snowball effect leading to increased absenteeism and productivity issues. And the doctors’ visits, medicines, and possible hospital stays can also affect your finances tremendously.

You miss work, you miss pay. And you’re less able to be promoted or get raises because of this. Unwanted pregnancies can cause quite a bit of stress and increased financial burden before you’re ready and affect job performance as well.

For the woman who wears her sexuality on her sleeve, what are some ways to still feel sexy, but not overdo it in the workplace?

Women have to be careful how they present themselves in the workplace, because you do want to be taken seriously. It’s still easy for women to be looked upon as sex objects.

It’s better to wear the sexy things on the inside than on the outside. Buy the sexiest underwear you can find, such as a bustier, bra, or garters instead of pantyhose, and let that be what makes you feel sexy.

If you’re going to wear something low-cut, wear a beautiful scarf to conceal while you’re in the office, and then when  you walk out of the office you can take it off. Scarves and jackets are great to make something sexy look more professional.

If dressing too sexy or suggestive means you’re not going to get a promotion because your female boss perceives you as promiscuous, you do have to think about that. You can still be sexy, but be careful.

Dr. Hilda Hutcherson will join Black Enterprise at our annual Women of Power Summit February 23-February 26. Not able to join us? Then tune in to our live stream of some of our Women of Power events starting at 9pm on Wednesday, February 23rd where we’ll cover panels and have interviews with panelists like Dr. Hutcherson. Have a question for someone appearing at the conference? Just log on to blackenterprise.com/wps and we’ll be sure to answer it live!

Forget the boardroom or even the power lunch; the real great ideas are birthed in the… shower?!?! Well, that’s how it worked for Verneda Adele White, creative director and founder of Human Intonation,  an independent apparel line geared towards raising awareness about various social and human rights issues. “Like all great entrepreneurs, I thought of [the name] in the shower,” says the 27-year-old with a laugh. “As I was brainstorming, I really wanted to invoke something. When I was thinking about fashion and wanting to raise social awareness the thought process was, I want to use fashion as a voice, so Human Intonation is giving voice to these social human rights issues that affect all of us as human beings.”

White’s beautiful mission was actually born out of personal tragedy. Five months after Hurricane Katrina displaced her family, she got word that her first cousin and best friend, James Wesley White, died from complications from AIDS. White’s misplaced emotions of anger and grief led her to lash out sexually until something just “clicked” inside of her. “I was very hurt, very angry about [my cousin’s] passing and part of that was a lot of acting out,” she admits. “Then I realized that being reckless isn’t going to bring him back and there’s something more productive I can do with this.”

The end result was Human Intonation. Founded in the summer of 2008, the brand—which includes graphic tees for both men and women—donates 20% of all its sales to non-profit organizations tied into the message of each of the four collections. For example, the Katrina tees benefit Hands on New Orleans, while proceeds from the Darfur Peace, Healing Haiti and Stop HIV tees go to Darfur Peace & Development Org., Yele Haiti and Advocates for Youth, respectively.

More than just a fashionista with a generous heart, White is about evoking real change through action. Over the course of the past year she’s held a series of roundtable discussions that focus on changing people of color’s sexual attitudes and HIV/AIDS awareness. The first three were all-female affairs because African-American women are the hardest hit by the disease, but last night (December 2) she opened the floor for the first co-ed “Protection is the NEW Black: Sex, Love + Lies in the Age of HIV Forum.” The panelist included motivational speaker and AIDS activist Hydeia Broadbent, President of Global World Solutions, Prof. David Hughes, program manager for LifeBeat Kizzy Graham and relationship blogger Slim Jackson. The resulting conversation was honest, real and hopefully opened up a few eyes.

“Yes, we are able to live a long time with medicine and have a normal life being HIV positive and living with AIDS, but that is not everyone’s story,” White warns. “Don’t ride that on your back and feel that it’s not a death sentence, it can still happen. My cousin found out in September of 2005 [that he had AIDS] and he died in February of 2006—five months. So that’s where I get a lot of my passion and motivation. Every time you choose to have unprotected sex that might be the last time before your life changes for real.”

Broadbent: Born with AIDS and a will to live

International HIV/AIDS activist and motivational speaker, Hydeia Broadbent, didn’t choose her career path, it chose her. Abandoned by her drug-addicted biological mom, Broadbent, who was born HIV positive, has turned what many might have considered a tragic tale into a triumphant one, dedicating her life to helping keep others from getting infected.

Since the age of six the Las Vegas native—who was adopted as an infant—has been a renowned public speaker, traveling to universities like Duke, UCLA and Howard, and appearing on such television programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20 and Good Morning America to warn teens and young adults about the dangers of unsafe sex.

In March of 2010, Broadbent teamed up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help launch a new social media initiative called “I Know.” Its purpose is to encourage African Americans ages 18-24 to talk openly about HIV, to know their status and to get tested. The campaign features public service announcements starring celebrities such as Jamie Foxx and Ludacris, and utilizes social media outlets like FaceBook and Twitter to get the word out.

Broadbent says it’s critical for young people to understand that HIV changes your life.

“I lead a pretty normal life but the medicine that helps keep me healthy is very expensive,” says the activist, who relies on the state to foot the enormous bill. “Nowadays kids don’t see HIV as a death sentence. Some of them know people with HIV and assume it’s as easy as popping some pills every now and then. It’s not; each pill I take costs $750.”

The money is just one of Broadbent’s many hardships.

“The medication can also make you really sick,” admits the 26-year-old, who says she spends more time than she’d like inside a doctor’s office. Broadbent also points to the lingering stigma around having HIV/AIDS and says despite having an active social life, dating isn’t easy. “I was once in love with someone who wasn’t strong enough to deal with me having AIDS,” she shares. “That affected me a lot because AIDS is part of me.”

“People sometimes think because I was born with HIV my story does not apply to them,” she adds. “But I’ve had it all my life. Who better to tell you about the disease than someone who has never lived a day without it? My message to young people is that having HIV affects you mind, body and soul. It’s not a death sentence but it does make things a whole lot more complicated.”

The nation’s unemployment rate, fell to 9.7% in May from 9.9% in April, due in part to the creation of 431,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. The government’s hiring of 411,000 temporary Census count workers fueled much of that boost.

African Americans had reason to cheer the latest report on news that the unemployment rate for blacks dropped one percentage point from 16.5% to 15.5%. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said she was pleased that the African American jobless rate had lowered, but couldn’t say unequivocally if it was because of the temporary Census jobs or a long-awaited move in the right direction of the economy.

“It’s hard to say because I don’t have all of that data, but I also was pleased to see it did tick down,” she said during a conference call, adding that black unemployment figures would improve even more once Congress passes a bill that would provide $1.2 billion for a summer youth employment program. The House passed its version of the measure before leaving for the Memorial Day recess; a Senate vote is expected to take place when lawmakers return to Washington on June 8. The bill also would extend unemployment benefits and COBRA.

Healthcare employment was little changed in May; however, over the prior 12 months, healthcare employment had increased by an average of 20,000 per month.  Manufacturing employment increased by 29,000 over the month and temporary help services added 31,000 jobs over the month.

Black Lawmakers Seek to Limit Reach of Ethics Office
Before slipping out of town for the Memorial Day recess, a group of 20 Congressional Black Caucus members, led by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), very quietly introduced a resolution (H. R. 1416) to limit the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. The measure would prohibit OCE from publicizing an ethics referral before there has been a finding of any violation and also would require a sworn complaint from a citizen claiming personal knowledge of an alleged wrongdoing.

It is unlikely that the bill will win much other support and may even ruffle some feathers.

But according to University of Maryland political scientist Ronald Walters, there is a perception that the panel has shown bias against the black lawmakers.

Five CBC members were recently investigated by the panel for violating House rules by participating in a junket to the Caribbean that was financed by corporate sponsors. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) was the only one to receive admonishment. Citing the late Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, a close Pelosi ally, who was exonerated of what Walters described as “very egregious” charges, he said, “When the only members who are most vulnerable appear to be African American members, there’s something wrong with the process.”

The watchdog was created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) to reassure taxpayers that the Democratic-controlled Congress would take ethics violations seriously and provide greater transparency. Two black lawmakers, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina) and Rep. Robert Scott (D-Virginia), sit on the independent, citizen-run panel. OCE doesn’t have the power to sanction lawmakers but acts as an advisory board to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

“The [OCE] was created to provide more transparency in the House of Representatives. It was a commendable goal. We must now perfect its processes to ensure that those aims are achieved in a manner consistent with America’s spirit of justice. The processes must be fair to all people involved,” Fudge said in a statement issued this week by her office. She also accused the OCE of acting as “accuser, judge and jury.”

Skeptics may question both the wisdom and the temerity of introducing such a measure, and though Waters believes it has merit—he’s also pretty certain that it also won’t go anywhere.

White House Hosts Summit on Black Men and AIDS

The White House held a summit Wednesday on the dire impact that AIDS has had on African American men, and officials said incidences of the disease may even be on the rise.

According to CDC figures, black men bear the greatest burden of HIV infection and account for nearly two-thirds of all estimated HIV infections in the black community. Their HIV diagnosis rate in 2006 was the highest of any group—more than seven times that for white males and twice the rate for Hispanic males and black females. In fact, the number of people with HIV in some of the nation’s black communities is comparable to the rate highly impacted African countries.

Summit participants included policymakers, community and religious leaders, doctors and key members of the Obama administration. The event was part of a series of meetings the White House conducted in the past several months to explore different aspects of the HIV/AIDS issue. The administration will soon release its national HIV/AIDS strategy to decrease the incidence of the disease and improve care.

Click here to view the summit.

What Washington Will be Talking About Next Week

Not surprisingly, jobs will be one of the hottest topics as the House anticipates whether the Senate will follow its lead by voting on and pass a version of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. The bill includes $1.2 billion for youth summer employment, and extends unemployment benefits and small business loan programs

On June 10, the House Ways and Means Committee’s Income Security and Family Support panel will hold a hearing on policy solutions to address long-term employment.

That rate would have been higher if not for the creation of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), says LaMont Evans, CEO of Healthy Black Communities Inc. When five organizations came together to start NBHAAD in 1999, the goal was to educate people about behavior that increases the risk for HIV infection, encourage testing for the disease, and to persuade those who test positive to seek treatment.

Despite the stable rate of new infections, “It is not a comfortable thing to have a stable epidemic,” says Evans. Since the program began, “200,000 black people have contracted HIV, which is totally unacceptable because HIV is 100% preventable,” Evans says.

The theme of this year’s NBHAAD focuses on encouraging African American communities to actively think about the impact of HIV/AIDS and prevention efforts. NBHAAD has been instrumental in mobilizing churches, fraternities and sororities, and community organizations to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the black community. For the 10-year anniversary on Feb.7, more than 600 institutions will hold marches, health fairs, and town hall meetings, and offer free HIV/AIDS testing.

One possible reason for those 200,000 infections is complacency, which leads to risky behavior. With more effective drugs on the market to treat the disease, people are living longer and no longer seeing AIDS as a death sentence, says Dr. Theresa Mack, who primarily treats patients with HIV/AIDS in New York.

In 2007, the rates of AIDS diagnoses decreased among blacks but were still higher than the rates of any other race/ethnicity, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black adults/adolescents were 10 times the rate for whites and nearly three times the rate for Hispanics. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black women was 22 times the rate for white women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black men was almost wight times the rate for white men.

CDC data also shows that African Americans between the ages of 13 and 29 account for half of all new infections among those in that age group.

Before there can be a decrease in new infections of AIDS/HIV rates among blacks, society needs to tackle certain social conditions, which include poverty, poor access to health services, and poor educational attainment, says Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the CDC.

“We will need to have a mobilization around the community in a way that really meets the sense of crisis that we are facing today,” says Fenton. “We need to continue to focus on delivering the most effective prevention and intervention to those in greatest need.”

How you can help:
Learn About HIV/AIDS. Educate yourself, friends, and family about HIV/AIDS and what you can do to protect yourself.
Get tested for HIV. To find a testing site near you, call 1-800-CDC-INFO, visit hivtest.org , or, on your cell phone, text your zip code to Know IT (566948).
Speak Out against stigma, homophobia, racism, and other forms of discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.
Donate time and money to HIV/AIDS organizations that work within African American communities.

Resources:

CDC HIV/AIDS: African Americans – Information on HIV/AIDS and African Americans

HIVtest.org – Find an HIV test site near you from the National HIV Testing Database, available 24 hours a day.

CDC Basic HIV Information — Learn about HIV/AIDS, how it is and is not transmitted, the risk factors for HIV transmission, preventing transmission and the symptoms of HIV infection.

Black AIDS Institute

Ryan White Program for financial assistance in treating HIV and AIDS

Wimberly

Many have joined the fight to prevent, treat, and study the spread of diseases affecting black communities, one of those being Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, a nationally recognized adolescent health specialist and pediatrician who was the first Morehouse School of Medicine physician to receive the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medicine Award last October.

BlackEnterprise.com talked with Dr. Wimberly about the importance of community awareness, health education, and disease prevention.

BlackEnterprise.com: Why is community outreach and health education awareness important for African American and urban communities, and why is patient-centered care of interest to you?

Dr. Yolanda Wimberly: Health education is key for preventive medicine because it allows people to be educated about the signs and symptoms of a disease and ways in which to protect themselves from contraction. In addition, it gives an opportunity for those who may have the disease resources to get tested. Patient-centered care is important because it allows the patient the opportunity to take charge of their own health and be more invested in the process. Educating my patients and their families is key and is a big step toward compliance.

You’ve also worked to establish adolescent clinics at existing health systems. Why is this work important to you, and how can someone go about establishing those types of networks in their own communities?

Adolescence is the time when lifelong habits are formed. Think about your eating habits, study habits, and exercise habits. Most of them are formed in adolescence. I believe if you give them correct info and show them the correct and healthy ways of doing things, they will do it the rest of their lives.

It is quite easy to establish the networks in the communities by visiting and offering services to local agencies and having meetings with them to brainstorm on what they feel is needed for youth.

Several studies have shown that the minority presence is scarce in the areas of science and technology. As an educator, what are some challenges that you are seeing?

There are an increasing amount of programs aimed at increasing minorities in science and technology, but there are many factors that we have to contend with. There are funding issues, interest, and also, in a world with so many choices and opportunities, convincing young people that they can become a physician is sometimes a barrier. Strong math and science skills are key for this profession and unfortunately, traditionally as African Americans, this is not emphasized in our school systems.

How can those challenges be remedied by those who are interested in science education and mentoring?

I would suggest finding a program that mentors African American students. Some colleges, especially HBCUs, may have summer programs for kids starting in middle school. Oftentimes, if one looks on a Website or calls the local college or medical school, they will be able to get info. In addition, it is important for colleges and medical schools to have collaborations with schools where they interact with students on a regular basis to expose them to the sciences.

As the costs of healthcare and insurance coverage rise, how do you spread a message of awareness and the importance of regular doctor visits  to communities struggling to pay the bare minimum of everyday expenses?

I tell people it is easier to stay healthy than to recover from illness. The cost of healthcare is rising and that is why it is even more important to use preventive measures and increase awareness of primary prevention. It is important to apply for grants to offset and supplement some of the costs but it will be even better when we get our healthcare system overhauled and have something that is better than what we have now.

What specific healthcare issues and initiatives do you think President-elect Barack Obama and his administration should most focus his efforts toward addressing and implementing?

Health disparities.  It is amazing the health disparities in the U.S.  When you look at African Americans, we have higher rates of diseases that are the cause of death than other races and ethnicities. I specialize in adolescents/young adults, so my focus is particularly on diseases that affect that population, including sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV; mental health, such as depression and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); and reproductive healthcare. I believe if we can focus on our young people and provide them with excellent health education and teach them better health habits before they begin bad habits, it will go a long way.

Dr. Kevin Fenton (Source: CDC)

Communities from South Africa to South Central Los Angeles and from Birmingham to Beijing will stop today and have a moment of silence for World AIDS Day. Observed on the first day of December since 1988, World AIDS Day was established by the World Health Organization to provide governments, organizations, and individuals an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.

Globally, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million HIV-related deaths in 2007, according to the 2008 report Status of the Global HIV Epidemic commissioned by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. In the U.S., African Americans make up a disproportionately high percentage (45%) of those infections and deaths.

Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has consistently focused on addressing racial and ethnic disparities in sexual health.

Fenton spoke with BlackEnterprise.com to address the serious toll that AIDS/HIV is taking on the African American community and advise the best course of action to reduce that impact.

BlackEnterprise.com: African Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population but 45% of new HIV infections. How do you explain the high incidence of new HIV infections among African Americans?

Dr. Kevin Fenton: African Americans bear a greater burden of HIV than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, with rates of HIV infection that are more than seven times as high as that of whites and almost three times as high as Hispanics.  Within the African American community, black gay and bisexual men, and black women are most heavily affected.

While race itself is not a risk factor, there are a number of reasons why HIV takes such a heavy toll on African Americans. Perhaps most important is the large number of blacks who are already living with HIV. This high prevalence of HIV means that there is a greater risk of infection with every sexual encounter.

It’s important to note that African Americans do not take greater sexual risks than people of other races. A range of other issues are at play, including poverty, limited access to healthcare, drug use, and higher rates of other sexually transmitted diseases (which can significantly increase a person’s chances of acquiring HIV). Stigma and homophobia also play an important role by too often preventing people at risk from getting tested for HIV or accessing other important HIV prevention services.

New infections among African Americans have remained roughly stable for more than a decade – even though an increasing number of people are living with HIV, and can potentially transmit the disease. In addition, new infections have declined dramatically in several transmission categories where African Americans are disproportionately represented: babies born to HIV-infected mothers, injection drug users, and heterosexuals.

What would you say is the most effective way for business leaders to facilitate AIDS prevention education?

The African American community is mobilized and more focused on addressing the black HIV/AIDS crisis than ever before. Black business leaders, as well as leaders from every other segment of the African American community (ie., faith, civil rights, entertainment), have joined forces with CDC through a national effort we call the “Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among African Americans.”

One of the most important ways the business community can support the nation’s HIV prevention efforts is by partnering with local health departments to promote HIV education, awareness, and testing. For example, about 75 merchants in Detroit and roughly 60 Chicago merchants are participating in a business-led initiative to provide African Americans in their cities with HIV testing and other prevention information. By simply distributing HIV awareness messages on items such as shopping bags and beverage sleeves – and initiating conversations with their customers – these business owners are making important strides in reducing the stigma of HIV.

We strongly encourage all business leaders to get involved. Even the simplest activities can have a significant impact.

How have AIDS prevention tactics such as education, awareness, and testing changed in the last 10 years, given changes in technology?

I would say that HIV testing is the area of prevention that has undergone the most significant changes in the last decade – both in our approach to HIV testing and in the technology itself.

One of the biggest changes took place two years ago, when CDC revised its HIV testing recommendations. At that time, we began recommending that all Americans ages 13 to 64 get tested for HIV in healthcare settings – regardless of their perceived risk. Prior to that time, CDC recommended routine testing only for populations known to be at high risk, such as injection drug users and gay or bisexual men. The main purpose of the revised recommendations is to have HIV testing become a regular part of medical care – just like cholesterol screening is today – in order to identify the 1 in 5 people currently estimated to be living with HIV who do not know they are infected (about 233,000 people), so they can be connected to treatment and prevent transmitting the infection to others.

HIV testing itself has also undergone significant changes, particularly with the introduction of HIV rapid testing in 2002. Rapid testing produces results in about 20 minutes – a vast improvement over the two-week waiting period that was typical when a traditional blood test had to be used to screen for HIV. There are now two types of rapid tests: a simple finger-prick test that uses a single drop of blood; and a saliva test, which uses a toothbrush-like device to collect oral fluid.

Better technology has also made it possible for us to track the HIV epidemic with much more precision than ever before.

Is the AIDS outlook for African Americans worse than many countries in Africa? Has the U.S. done enough financially to prevent AIDS in America?

You’re referring to a recent report by the Black AIDS Institute (BAI), which found that if black America was its own country it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people with HIV – ahead of nations such as Ethiopia, Botswana, and Haiti.

As a nation, we must recognize the epidemic for the crisis that it is and work to expand access to HIV prevention and treatment. In 2007, the CDC spent $300 million – more than half of its domestic HIV prevention budget – on fighting HIV in African American communities. But the reality is that we’ve been facing increased challenges at a time of relatively stable resources.

An informed and engaged community is one of our most powerful weapons against the spread of HIV.  Black communities need to keep HIV front and center, and we all need to talk openly about HIV to raise awareness and reduce the stigma and homophobia that have been associated with this disease for far too long.

Why is AIDS testing is a critical part of educating African Americans about the disease?

While it’s obvious that HIV testing helps get people into treatment, the link to prevention may not be so apparent. There are two key reasons why HIV testing is critical for the nation’s prevention efforts.  First, research shows that more than half of new sexually transmitted HIV infections are transmitted by those who don’t know they are infected. According to a recent CDC analysis, about 21% of the 1.1 million individuals living with HIV in the United States at the end of 2006 did not know they were infected.

And second, studies show that once people learn they are HIV-positive, most take steps to protect their partners.  Over the past five years, CDC has expanded its efforts to prevent infections on both sides of the equation – keeping HIV-negative individuals uninfected, and helping to ensure that those who are HIV-positive do not unknowingly put their partners at risk of becoming infected.

The CDC remains deeply committed to expanding HIV testing, especially for African Americans.  For example, we awarded $70 million in grants over the last two years to the nation’s hardest-hit states and cities to support their expansion of local HIV testing services, primarily among African Americans.

RESOURCES

What you can do:

Get tested for HIV. To find a testing site center near you, visit hivtest.org or, on your cell phone, text your zip code to Know IT (566948).

Stand up against stigma, racism, and other forms of discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.

Donate time and money to HIV/AIDS organizations.

What organizations can do:

Promote World AIDS Day in your organization. Useful materials are available at hivtest.org.

Encourage employees to get involved in World AIDS Day.

Educate staff about HIV/AIDS.

Develop HIV/AIDS policies for the workplace.

MORE INFORMATION

Key Resources from CDC

HIVtest.org

AIDS.gov

World AIDS Campaign

World AIDS Day (Department of Health & Human Services)

CDC HIV Testing Database — Locate an HIV testing site near you

CDC HIV / AIDS — CDC’s Web site for HIV/AIDS in the United States

CDC Global HIV/AIDS — CDC’s Global AIDS Program

CDC National Prevention Information Network — Reference, referral, and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention