April 8, 2009

White House Launches “Act Against AIDS” Campaign in U.S.

President Barack Obama’s administration launched on April 7 a five-year, $45 million campaign to generate HIV/AIDS awareness in the United States, The Washington Post reports. The campaign, titled “Act Against AIDS,” will include public service announcements, text messages and advertising on public transportation as well as a web site, NineAndaHalfMinutes.org (the name refers to how frequently people are infected domestically).

“There is a complacency…a false sense of security and a false sense of calm,” said Kevin Fenton, director of the national center for HIV/AIDS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Every 9-1/2 minutes, someone’s mother, someone’s daughter, someone’s father, someone’s friend is infected.”

According to Fenton, the campaign will focus initially on African Americans, which make up roughly 12 percent of the U.S. population but account for nearly half of new infections and nearly half of the HIV-positive population. A separate phase of the campaign will target Latinos, which account for 15 percent of the population and 17 percent of new infections.

Fenton added that the primary goal of the $9 million a year campaign “is to put the HIV epidemic on the front burner, on the radar screen.”

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Previous Comments:

FREDERICK WRIGHT, TAMPA, 2009-04-14 21:39:20
HAPPY DAYS FOR OUR GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOWED KENVIN FENTON TO MAKE A STATEMENT .. AND ADDED SOME MONEY BEYOND A NEW AIDS CHAMPAIGN TOO, HAPPY DAYS. ON THE OTHER HAND, AFTER TWO ADMINISRATIONS IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND NEARLY 13 YEARS SINCE RAPID HIV TESTING FOR HIV HAS BEEN INVENTED IT IS STILL NOT AVAIABLE OVER THE COUNTER (OTC) FOR SALE LIKE A HOME PREGENANCE TEST IN CVS LOTS OF WORDS AND SOUND BITES COMING FORTH, WHAT ABOUT SOME NEW ACTION? WHY IS THE CDC AND FDA NOT ADVOCATING OTC HIV TESTING?

Michael, Haslett, MI, 2009-04-11 12:43:51
I believe that they should do this totally different. We should not put any certain race or sex on those who get HIV/AIDS. We have to let it be known that anyone can get this diease, not just those of certain races or sex. To even just start with one race and then each year add another, it confuses the public and our children. Get rid of race and sex altogether and let it be known that anyone of any race or sex can get HIV/AIDS

Rowdy, Oakland, CA, 2009-04-10 00:26:29
The link to NineAndaHalfMinutes.org is not correct, please fix it.

Dr. Richard Ferri, Brewster, 2009-04-09 18:42:53
While it is nice to have Obama utter the word AIDS in his 1st 100 days...do we really need another "awareness" program? I know that we do in all reality but it isn't "awareness" that is the problem is apathy. People need to give a damn again about AIDS, other people, equal rights, and stop being fixated on their pocketbooks. Yes times are tough money wise...now trying getting thru this fiscal mess with no T cells, lack of public empathy, and zip possibility of getting disability. Fun, huh?

Jack Moore, Knoxville, 2009-04-09 14:03:46
Its about TIME. YES WE CAN STOP AIDS! GO-BAMA!

Joel F. Bowie, Phippsburg, 2009-04-09 10:31:17
In addition to ads, the program needs to be taken to the schools much like the smoking campaign has. Sex starts with school-age children and safe-sex needs to be learned then. Please ! !