CBCF Announces New AIDS Crisis Fellowship Program

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) is launching a new fellowship program focusing on the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS on the African-American community. This program, which is part of CBCF’s Center for Policy Analysis and Research, will give one fellow per year the opportunity to inform policymaking in such relevant areas as HIV prevention, testing and access to care. It is supported by a grant from the Gilead Foundation. “The new fellowship will help us broaden the collaborative efforts of public, private and governmental entities to promote and implement HIV/AIDS policies that truly meet the needs of African Americans,” said Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., CBCF’s president and chief executive officer. “The research we generate on HIV/AIDS policy will help direct us toward better solutions for addressing one of the biggest threats to the health and well-being of African Americans.” African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for more HIV and AIDS diagnoses and HIV-related deaths than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Though African Americans represent only 13 percent of the U.S. population, they comprised 46 percent of new HIV infections in 2006 – a rate seven times that of white Americans. Statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than half of the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are African American.

“Too many African- American men, women and children are suffering from the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS,” said Del. Donna M. Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), a CBCF board member and chairwoman of the CBC Health Braintrust. “Our hope is that through this new fellowship we can focus on efforts to deploy a comprehensive campaign that will prioritize early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the black community.”

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