Mobilization
By Sharon Egiebor
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-California, was one of several members of the Congressional Black Caucus to take an HIV test on Capitol Hill recently. Lee took a rapid or quick swab test from a medical mobile outreach vehicle that was provided by the Washington, D.C. Department of Health. The pain-free, non-invasive test examines the saliva for the presence of antibodies created by the body to fight HIV/AIDS. It is considered a rapid test because results are available within 20 minutes. Among those joining Lee were Corrine Brown of Florida, Donna Christian-Christensen of the Virgin Islands, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Eleanor Norton Holmes of Washington, D.C., Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Melvin L. Watt of North Carolina and Maxine Waters of California. "We have to stop the devastation this disease is causing in our community, and promoting testing is a critical first step," said Lee, who co-chairs the CBC Global HIV/AIDS Taskforce. "People need to know their status, and I will be working with local Black lawmakers and others to promote testing in the Bay Area." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 250,000 people, more than one in four of those infected, have HIV and do not know it. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is devastating the African American community. Today, African Americans account for nearly 50 percent of all people in the United States living with HIV/AIDS even though they represent about 12 percent of the population. African American women account for nearly 70 percent of new infections among women, and AIDS is now the leading cause of death for African American women between the ages of 25-34. The event comes in the immediate wake of new testing recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and on the heels of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, where African American leaders from the United States announced a national call to action to end the AIDS epidemic in black America. Lee, Christensen, Waters and Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent Hughes were among the politicians participating with the Black AIDS Institute in the national call to action in Toronto. As part of that mobilization effort, Lee recently held a forum in Oakland designed to raise awareness about the toll the disease is taking on the African American community and to foster community involvement in stopping its spread. She has introduced resolutions recognizing the goals of National HIV Testing Day, and in 2005 the House of Representatives passed her resolution supporting the goals of National Black AIDS Awareness Day. She has introduced legislation aimed at ensuring continuing care and treatment for Gulf Coast residents living with HIV/AIDS who were displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and recently introduced legislation to allow the distribution of condoms in federal prisons and to develop a strategy to reduce HIV and other STIs in prisons. As the lead author of the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000 and the principal co-author of legislation establishing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Lee's accomplishments in promoting effective, bipartisan measures to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and bring treatment to those living with HIV/AIDS have earned her international recognition as a leader in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Prior to her testing, Moore spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about the effects of HIV/AIDS on the African American community. In her district in Milwaukee, 4,600 people have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS since 1983, 47.9 percent of them African Americans. “While these data are appalling and frightening, we must remember that this is entirely preventable,” said Moore. “And we must spread the hope of preventing AIDS.”