Res. No. 662 Title Resolution recognizing February 7, 2003 as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Body By Council Members Boyland, Baez, Clarke, Comrie, Gennaro, Lopez, Martinez, Perkins, Quinn, Sanders, Seabrook, Serrano, Vann, Weprin, and Jackson Whereas, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a project of the Community Capacity Building Coalition (CCBC), which is comprised of national advocacy organizations and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Minority Aids Initiative to provide capacity building assistance to community-based organizations and stakeholders involved in HIV/AIDS prevention; and Whereas, This observance is a nationwide effort to mobilize the community to address the HIV/AIDS State of Emergency among African-Americans and encourage individuals to be tested for HIV/AIDS; and Whereas, According to CDC data, while Blacks comprise 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 38 percent of the AIDS cases reported in this country; and Whereas, CDC statistics show that seventy-two African-Americans are infected with HIV every day; and Whereas, These statistics also reveal that in 2000, more African-Americans were reported to have HIV/AIDS than any other racial/ethnic group; and Whereas, The CDC also reports that an estimated 1 in 50 African-American men and 1 in 160 African-American women are infected with HIV and African-American children (under age 13) represent almost two-thirds of all reported pediatric HIV cases in the U. S.; and Whereas, According to the Black AIDS Institute, AIDS is the leading cause of death among Black men ages 25-44; and Whereas, According to the CDC, data suggests interrelated issues play a role in the continuing spread of HIV/AIDS in communities of color, including health disparities between economic classes, challenges related to the control of substance abuse and the interrelation of substance abuse and the HIV epidemic and other sexually transmitted diseases; and Whereas, The CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention stresses that prevention strategies must be available and accessible for all populations at risk; and Whereas, On February 7, 2003, students from the New York Technical Career Institute (TCI), City University of New York (CUNY), and other concerned stakeholders will gather at Klitogrd Gymnasium in Brooklyn to take part in a HIV/AIDS educational and awareness program; and Whereas, It is fitting that the City Council joins with other national and local groups to express its strong support for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and the initiatives to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the African American community, and to advocate for treatment and support services for victims of the disease; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York recognizes February 7, 2003 as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. LS# 1743 JP 1/23/03