Hip Hop Caucus

National Minority AIDS Council Calls for Comprehensive Health Response to Increase in HIV Incidence

Re-evaluation of HIV incidence data at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that over 55,500 new HIV cases occurred each year from 2003-2006, with 56,300 cases in 2006 alone. These numbers are approximately 40% higher than the CDC’s previous estimate of 40,000 new HIV cases annually, an estimate that had remained the same for over ten years.

“We applaud the CDC’s efforts to provide a clearer picture of the AIDS epidemic,” says Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). “While the Federal government’s focus in recent years on testing, care and treatment has saved the lives of many people living with HIV/AIDS, these new numbers clearly indicate that this approach has done little to prevent new infections.”