Camden Observes National Black HIV And AIDS Awareness Day
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Wednesday was National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. In observance of the day, officials in Camden held an event to better educate people on the disease. Martha Chavis with the Camden Area Health Education Center says informational sessions like the one they held Wednesday evening are important, because after so many years, people still do not understand just how far reaching HIV is.
"As a community of African-Americans, we account for 44% of the HIV infections here in the United States, yet our population is only 12 percent," Chavis told KYW Newsradio.
During the meeting, Ms. Chavis stressed the importance of knowing one's status, testing for the disease, and treatment programs.
"We just want to continue the message, it is in our community 365 days a year and we need to pay attention and do something about it."