[Feb 02, 2005]

      African Americans make up more than half of new HIV cases reported in the United States annually but represent only 13% of the general U.S. population, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Black AIDS Institute, the AP/Monterey County Herald reports. The report -- titled "The Time is Now!" -- was released to coincide with the beginning of Black History Month and is based on statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation, CDC, Congress and other sources (AP/Monterey County Herald, 2/2).

Findings, Recommendations
The report found that African Americans currently account for 54% of new HIV cases reported each year in the United States, and African-American women accounted for 67% of all AIDS diagnoses among women in 2001. The report also found that:

• African-American teenagers account for approximately 66% of new AIDS cases among teens, although they make up only 15% of the U.S. teen population;
  
  
• Up to 33% of African-American men who have sex with men under age 30 are HIV-positive;
  
  
• About 42% of all AIDS diagnoses in the United States are among African Americans; and
  
  
• Nearly 40% of all AIDS diagnoses among African Americans as of 2003 could be traced to contaminated needles.

The report calls on Congress to increase funding for HIV/AIDS treatment programs and Medicaid, provide more comprehensive sex education in schools, adopt a "sensible" HIV/AIDS prevention policy for prisons and curb the cost of HIV/AIDS-related medications. The report also urges states to adopt needle-exchange programs (Wright, "The Time is Now!" February 2005).