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4 - The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, August 20, 2008
HEALTH NEWS AND FEATURES
African-Americans and HIV: Are
We Still Paying Attention?
By. Marc H. Morial
NNPA Columnist
To Be Equal Column
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
recently released a report
showing that new HIV infec
tions are 40 percent higher
than previously estimated,
with the majority of new
infections occurring among
African- Americans.
African-Americans
make up only 13 percent of
the population, yet account
for 45 percent of all new
HIV infections. The CDC
report begs the question: As
the face of AIDS in America
has turned increasingly
Black, have our federal gov
ernment and many of our fel
low citizens simply stopped
paying attention?
About 600,000 African-
Americans are now HIV pos
itive and as many as 30,000
are infected each year.
According to an analysis by
the Black Aids Institute,
despite extraordinary
improvements in HIV treat
ment, AIDS remains the
leading cause of death
among Black women aged
25-34, and the second lead
ing cause of death among
Black men aged 35-44.
Blacks make up 70 percent
of new HIV cases among
teenagers and 65 percent of
HIV-infected newborns.
At a time when the
actions of our federal gov
ernment and others are
resulting in fewer deaths and
greater access to affordable
antiretroviral drugs in places
like Namibia and Cambodia,
more Black Americans are
living with AIDS than the
infected populations in
Botswana, Ethiopia, Guyana,
Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda or
Vietnam.
In fact, according to the
Black AIDS Institute, if
Black America were a coun
try, it would rank 16th in the
world in the number of peo
ple living with HIV.
The Bush
Administration should be
applauded for its allocation
of $50 billion in new emer
gency AIDS funding for the
global fight against the dis
ease, but I agree with
NBLCA president and CEO
C. Virginia Fields' contention
that the president's focus on
combating HIV/AIDS over
seas has not been matched
with a commitment to fight
ing the epidemic here at
home. We need better and
more targeted prevention
efforts.
We must also do more
to promote needle exchange
programs, improve testing in
prisons and deal with issues
like poverty, homelessness
and drag abuse which are
known incubators for the dis
ease. But government can't
do this job alone. We also
however, must do more in
our own communities to
change behaviors and end
the stigma and homophobia
that keep us from reaching
out to those in greatest need.
The CDC report should be a
wakeup call to Washington
and to every American. We
can and we must reduce this
trend.
The National Black
Leadership Commission on
AIDS (NBLCA) has called
for an emergency
Congressional hearing on the
implications of the CDC
report. The group has also
called on the presidential
candidates to develop a
national AIDS strategy and
to make fighting the epidem
ic in Black America a high
priority. The National Urban
League stands with groups
like the Black AIDS Institute
and the Congressional Black
Caucus, in issuing a national
call to action. We must do
more to protect our commu
nities from this national epi
demic.
Party to Benefit Local Breast Cancer Programs
A woman dies every 13
seconds from Breast Cancer.
One in eight women will be
diagnosed. Join us for a party
with a purpose to benefit
LOCAL Breast Cancer
Programs on Saturday,
August 23, 2008 6pm at
Savannah State Savannah
Ballroom.
We invite you to be a
part of this year's fun-filled
event!
For more information
THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE
1805 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Savannah, Georgia 31401
Ph. (912) 233-6128 FAX (912) 233-6140
www.savannahtribune.com
Shirley B. James
Publisher and Editor
Tanya Milton
Vice President/Advertising Director
tanya@savannahtribune.com
Sharon P. Smiley
Managing Editor
sharon@ savannahtribune .com
Andre’ Allen
Graphic Designer
Monica L. Taylor
Assistant Managing Editor
A. Camille James Rachelle J. Gregory
Education Editor Staff Writer
Zyon D. Smiley
Staff Writer
Frederick D.Gregory
Staff Writer
Walter Moore
Sports Writer
Published weekly by The Savannah Tribune, Inc.
Deadlines for news releases and advertisements:
Fridays 12:00 noon
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tography, without written permission of the publisher.
about Sponsorship
Opportunities, Silent Auction
Donations, Community Expo
Exhibiting and Tickets
($50.00, partially tax-
deductible), Savannah
Coalition, contact Martina
Correia at email address:
pinkandblackgala@gmail.com
or call 912-695-5286.
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
150 cosmetics companies
agree: Beauty products don't
need to be Toxic.
Every day, we use as
many as 25 personal care
products on our bodies.
Some of the chemicals in
these products are linked to
cancer, infertility and birth
defects- and most have never
been evaluated for their
health effects. Learn about
Potential hazards that cause
breast cancer!
NBLIC Savannah
Coalition presents Cindy
Luppi, Program Director
Clean Water Action,
Strategist
Cosmetics Campaign,
Boston Massachusetts on
Thursday, August 21, 2008 -
6:30 PM at the Nancy N. &
J.C. Lewis Cancer Center/
St. Joseph's/ Candler Health
System, 125 Candler Drive
(across from main hospital
entrance on Reynolds
Street).
This event is FREE and
OPEN to the Public.
Refreshments will be served.
Knowledge is Part of
the CURE.
For more Information
Contact Martina 912-695-
5286.
Governor Announces Launch of
Together Rx Access For Georgia Card
Cards improve prescription
access for more than 1.6
million uninsured Georgians
ATLANTA - Today
Governor Sonny Perdue and
Together Rx Access
announced the launch of the
Together Rx Access® FOR
GEORGIA Card to help eli
gible uninsured Georgians
gain access to immediate
and meaningful savings on
prescription medicines and
products right at the phar
macy counter. The FOR
GEORGIA Card is the first
state-specific Together Rx
Access Card, offering card
holders the same savings as
the regular Together Rx
Access Card.
"Access to affordable
prescriptions will help
Georgians take better care of
their health and the health of
their families," said
Governor Sonny Perdue.
"Georgia is proud to be the
first state in the nation to
embark on this important
journey with a program that
is doing great work to
improve access to prescrip
tion medications for unin
sured people around the
country."
The co-promotion fully
opens the state's communi
cation and outreach avenues
to reach more uninsured
Georgians throughout the
state. The co-promotion
costs nothing to the state
while having the potential to
help thousands of residents
access the medicines they
need to take care of what's
most important... their
health.
As part of their mis
sions to improve the health
of Georgians, the Georgia
Department of Community
Health and Georgia
Department of Human
Resources will begin
reviewing policies and
methods to inform Georgia
residents who may qualify
for the card of its benefits. In
2005, Governor Perdue
praised the initial launch of
Together Rx Access, calling
the program a great example
of the private sector step
ping forward, in partnership
with the state, to meet the
health needs of low-income
Georgians. Currently, near
ly 60,000 Georgia residents
have enrolled in Together
Rx Access. Those in
Georgia who have used the
Together Rx Access Card
have saved $3.5 million on
their prescription medicines.
About 10,000 uninsured
people enroll for the card
every week nationwide.
‘‘This unique co-pro-
motion marks a significant
milestone for Together Rx
Access and opens the door
to better prescription access
for many more uninsured
people across the state of
Georgia,” said Roba
Whiteley, Executive
Director of Together Rx
Access. “We are grateful for
the tremendous program
support of Governor Perdue
and hope this partnership
encourages many other
states to follow Georgia’s
lead in reaching out to resi
dents in need with available
resources.”
The Together Rx
Access FOR GEORGIA
Card will have the same
look as the standard
Together Rx Access Card,
except for the words FOR
GEORGIA in the lower right
hand comer. These words
will signify a Georgia resi
dent’s participation in this
co-promotion.
Blood Donors Needed as Supplies Drop
Memorial University
Medical Center and the
Savannah Community Blood
Bank are holding a two day
mobile blood drive at the
main entrance to Memorial
University Medical Center
from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
Wednesday, August 20th and
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Thursday, August 21 st.
Donors participating in the
drive will be entered into a
drawing for a $250 gift cer
tificate to the Oglethorpe
Mall.
Memorial University
Medical Center and the
Savannah Community Blood
Bank hope to acquire 150
pints of blood during the two
day blood drive. That means
approximately 180 people
need to register. To schedule
an appointment, call Kim
Gattisat 912.350.6730.
“I am pleased to see
that my small donation is
able to help such a wide vari
ety of people. With one
small act and small amount
of time I am able to con
tribute to the saving of a life.
Knowing I am doing my part
in keeping the blood banks
full, makes me feel comfort
able,” said Michael Beasley,
a routine blood donor and
team member at Memorial.
“Someone in our community
needs blood every 8 minutes.
Donated blood can mean the
difference between life and
death for some of our
patients.”
Savannah Community
Blood Bank (SCBB), part of
The Blood Alliance, is an
independent nonprofit com
munity blood center commit
ted to providing a safe and
adequate blood supply for
the people of Savannah.
Since January 2001, SCBB
has been the sole provider of
blood products for Memorial
University Medical Center.
Savannah Community Blood
Bank is a member of the
AABB and America's Blood
Health coverage that makes sense.
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BlueCross
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The Blue Cross and Blue
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Centers.
Memorial University
Medical Center (MUMC) is a
two-state healthcare organi
zation serving a 35-county
area in southeast Georgia and
southern South Carolina. The
system includes its flagship
hospital, a 530-bed tertiary
medical center; Memorial
primary and specialty care
physician networks; a major
medical education program;
business and industry servic
es; and NurseOne, a 24-hour
call center.
Visit our Web site at
www.memorialhealth.com.
Healthy
Savannah
Launches
Interactive
Web Map
Healthy Savannah, the
City of Savannah’s initiative
to increase the health and fit
ness of all citizens, has
launched a new interactive
Web feature, the Map to a
Healthy Savannah.
The Map helps citizens
find local public health and
fitness resources, with an
emphasis on free or low-cost
activities. For more informa
tion, call the City of
Savannah Public
Information Office at
912.651.6410.