KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - This past weekend, King County Executive Ron Sims and Public Health - Seattle & King County were joined in an HIV/AIDS Summit by clergy and community leaders that include the Seattle Treatment Education Program, African Americans Reach and Teach Health Ministry, Brother to Brother, People of Color Against AIDS Network and Northwest AIDS Education and Training Center. These groups came together to raise awareness on how HIV is impacting the African-American community and to identify strategies and actions for HIV and AIDS prevention and care. The summit also marked the start of a new HIV/AIDS prevention media campaign.

"Globally, HIV and AIDS remain a very real and deadly disease, and locally HIV and AIDS are having a growing impact in the African-American community," said Sims. "We are launching a ground-breaking HIV prevention campaign that is endorsed by clergy and aims to put a stop to increasing HIV rates among African Americans."

"Many of our community and leaders are taking action to get the word out on this critical issue," said Reverend Mary Diggs-Hobson, Co-founder of African Americans Reach and Teach Health Ministries (AARTH). "We support responsible behavior that protects our brothers and sisters, open and honest communication in relationships, and the humane caring of those who are affected by HIV and AIDS."

The Summit marked the launching of a new HIV/AIDS prevention campaign, endorsed by 14 predominately African-American churches, that aims to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and urges HIV testing. The campaign will continue throughout the year with bus ads, radio spots and church bulletins focusing on different segments of the African-American community.

"This is the start of a permanent campaign, and we have widespread commitment to reverse increasing HIV/AIDS trends," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "HIV testing and effective, open communication among partners are essential in order to prevent new infections."

In King County, HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect African Americans:

• Of the estimated 8,500 persons with HIV currently living in King County, approximately 1,250 are African American. In other words, 15% are African American, when African Americans only make up 6% of the county's population.
• The rate of HIV infection in African Americans is 2.5 times higher than in whites, and a little over 1.5 times higher than in Latinos, the next most impacted ethnic group.
• HIV rates among African American women is even more disproportional. African-American women are nearly 15 times more likely to be infected than white women, and are more than five times more likely to be infected than Latina women.
• There are increasing numbers of African immigrants in our county, and an increasing proportion of those with HIV are African born. About 40% of African-Americans reported with HIV infection between 2000 and 2002 were born outside of the United States, mainly in Africa.