NMAC Commends Congress for Lifting Federal Funding Ban on Syringe Exchange; Calls for Greater Awareness of Continued HIV/AIDS Threat in the U.S. and Abroad
In the U.S., injection drug use accounts for 12% of the more than estimated 55,000 new HIV cases that occur annually. African American and Latino communities alone account for 70% of all new infections. If unchecked, HIV will undermine the health of future generations around the world, as indicated in the recent World Health Organization (WHO) report stating that AIDS is the number one killer of women in their childbearing years – ages 15-49 – globally. WHO also estimates that AIDS will be the number one killer in the world by 2030.
“The global AIDS pandemic is far from over,” says Hayes-Cozier. “Supporting syringe exchange is a positive step in the U.S. to mitigating HIV here and around the world.”
About NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has advanced its mission, “to develop leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS” since 1987 through individualized capacity building assistance; technical assistance trainings; public policy education programs; national and regional conferences; treatment and research education programs; online and printed resource materials; and a website: http://www.nmac.org/. The agency also serves as a membership association for its constituent AIDS service organizations and minority faith- and community-based organizations delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color and advocates on their behalf in Washington, D.C.
NMAC's advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. For more information, please contact NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or communications@nmac.org. You may find us online at http://www.nmac.org/ as well as on Facebook.com, Wikipedia.com, Twitter.com, MyPhotoAlbum.com and YouTube.com.
Contact:
Circe J. Gray LeCompte
Director of Communications
National Minority AIDS Council
Phone: (202) 483-6622 x 309
E-Mail: communications@nmac.org
Contact:
Circe J. Gray LeCompte
Director of Communications
National Minority AIDS Council
Phone: (202) 483-6622 x 309
E-Mail: communications@nmac.org