On Wednesday, March 10th Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty signed a proclamation declaring yesterday National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls.
A recent report, Organizing to Survive–The HIV/AIDS Crisis Among Florida’s Women by Florida Department of Health revealed that there is great disparity among Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
In Orange County through 2006, one in every 98 black women was living with HIV/AIDS compared with one in 375 Hispanic women and one in 1,057 white women. This implies that the rate among black women is nearly four times greater than the rate among Hispanics and eleven times greater than among white women.
For the state as a whole, in 2006, the AIDS case rate per 100,000 population was 89.4 for black women, 14.6 for Hispanic women and 5.1 for white women.
The report noted that for 15 consecutive years, HIV/AIDS has been the leading cause of death among black women aged 25-44 years in Florida. Today, it still remains a crisis particularly among this ethnic group.
The Greater Orlando Section of the National Council of Negro Women is assisting organizations and health agencies in Orange County to response to the impact of HIV and AIDS on the county’s female population. To this end, a series of events to increase knowledge of this disease and testing opportunities are being conducted in local communities.
“Save a life one woman at a time,” is the message, said Kelli Graham, President, Greater Orlando Section of the National Council of Negro Women.
The Department of Health estimates that approximately 125,000 persons, or roughly 11.7% of the national total, are currently living with HIV infection in Florida as of the end of 2007.
For more information on upcoming events, please visit: www.ncnwgos.com.
