HIV/AIDS Branch News

Department for Public Health Sponsors Essay Contest to Raise Awareness of HIV/AIDS Contest Targets African-American, Hispanic Youths

FRANFORT, KY (Feb. 25, 2008) - The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) is sponsoring an essay contest challenging Kentucky teenagers to learn more about HIV/AIDS and the impact the disease has on their generation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African-American and Hispanic youths, respectively, make up 60 percent and 17 percent of all HIV/AIDS youth cases (13-24 year olds) diagnosed from 2001 to 2005. Similar impacts can be observed in Kentucky’s African-American and Hispanic youths. While the two groups represent a small portion of the population, African-American and Hispanic youths represent 38.8 percent and 10.5 percent of living AIDS cases reported in Kentucky through Dec. 31, 2006. 

“We’re sponsoring this essay contest in hopes of making young people more aware of the impact HIV/AIDS has on their communities and how they can contribute to the fight against it by becoming HIV/AIDS advocates for their generation,” said Sigga Jagne, manager of the HIV/AIDS branch in DPH.

The goal of the essay contest is to educate and inspire Kentucky’s minority youth to take action and help stop the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS among young people in minority populations. The contest is open to minority youths age 13 to 18 who live in Kentucky. 

“We are looking for compelling essays that demonstrate the impact of HIV/AIDS on young people’s lives and how each young person, as an individual, can help others learn about the disease,” said Jagne.

Three finalists will be chosen to present their essays at the Eighth Annual African-American and Hispanic Youth Conference on AIDS on April 26 at the University of Kentucky Student Center. DPH will award prizes to the top three winners.

If interested, please review the essay requirements below. All essay submissions must be postmarked by March 31, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact Michael Hambrick, HIV prevention coordinator, DPH/HIV/AIDS Branch, at 1-800-420-7431, ext. 3560 or e-mail Michael.Hambrick@ky.gov.

Entry Guidelines:

• Open to all African American and Hispanic/Latino youth, ages 13-18.
• Contestants must reside in the state of Kentucky.
• Essay should be no longer than one (1) page.
• Essay must be typed and single spaced.
• Essays must be submitted with the fully completed form below, indicating parental consent.
• Essay finalists must be present during the 8th Annual African-American and Hispanic/Latino Youth Conference on AIDS at the University of Kentucky Student Center, 200 Avenue of Champions,  Lexington, Ky., on  April 26, 2008.
• Prizes will only be awarded during the conference. Finalists must be present to win.
• Essay submissions must be postmarked by March 31, 2008.
• Please complete the information sheet here and return it with your essay.

The ‘Generals’ in the U.S. HIV/AIDS Fight Speak Out:  Invest More Now or Run the Risk of Losing the Battle

The nation’s AIDS directors send a clear message to the U.S. government and public:  Increase America’s investment in HIV prevention or run the risk of losing the war against HIV/AIDS in the U.S. 

As stewards of more than fifty percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s $663 million domestic HIV prevention program budget, as well as the significant resources from their own jurisdictions, AIDS directors are responsible for implementing a comprehensive HIV/AIDS response in each state, territory and directly-funded city in the U.S.  This unique role positions them as consummate leaders in the nation’s fight to end the epidemic.

With fullest vigilance, AIDS directors released today their vision for America’s prevention response, A New Blueprint for the Nation: Ending the Epidemic Through the Power of Prevention (pdf, 256k), and a companion policy agenda (pdf, 60k).

In the early days of the epidemic, the success of programs implemented at the state and local levels led to a 75 percent decrease in the rate of HIV transmission in the U.S.  Despite steady erosion in funding and a steadily increasing number of people capable of transmitting the virus, these programs have been able to keep the epidemic stable for more than 15 years.

Unfortunately, AIDS directors know the nation is reaching a tipping point.  Because of continued under-funding, restrictive policies and more than 1.2 million people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, the success of the nation’s prevention response is being threatened.

“Each year, tens of thousands of opportunities are missed, despite our relentless efforts.  As long as the nation remains apathetic to prevention, our potential to be victorious in this fight diminishes,” says Sigga M. Jagne, AIDS Director for the State of Kentucky and executive committee member of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), the organization founded to be the voice of state AIDS directors.

To stave off the looming crisis, AIDS directors are poised to scale up their programs.  In their Blueprint, they clearly articulate a vision for what is necessary to win the battle against HIV/AIDS in the U.S.  To achieve this vision, they offer three specific action steps.

• Adequately fund CDC’s prevention program at the level of at least $1.3 billion dollars annually.
• Meaningfully invest in services that work to prevent infection, including access to sterile injection equipment, research to develop new population-specific interventions, enhanced programming in correctional settings and abandonment of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in favor of comprehensive sexuality education.
• Meaningfully invest in programs that support HIV prevention including STD treatment, substance abuse prevention and treatment, mental health services, housing and expanded research to identify an HIV vaccine and effective microbicides.

AIDS directors call on the federal government to make a commitment to end the epidemic in America and to ensure leadership on the local level is fully supported and funded.  To close the Blueprint, they offer their commitment to working toward an America without HIV/AIDS.

“We can never forget: HIV disease is preventable.  By building on the successes of the nation’s health department prevention programs—by far the most significant force we have in this fight—we can, as the Blueprint says, ‘turn the tide on the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic’,” says Julie M. Scofield, Executive Director of NASTAD.

NASTAD Release Date:  November 27, 2007