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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, February 7, 2015 is the fourteenth annual
3commemoration and observance of National African-American
4HIV/AIDS Awareness Day; and
 
5    WHEREAS, This observance is a nationwide effort to mobilize
6African-American communities to get educated, tested,
7involved, and treated for HIV/AIDS, as it continues to
8devastate African-American communities; and
 
9    WHEREAS, National African-American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
10is directed, planned, and strategically implemented by
11HIV/AIDS organizations to mobilize community-based
12organizations and stakeholders involved in HIV/AIDS
13prevention, care, and treatment; and
 
14    WHEREAS, African-Americans account for 44% of people
15living with HIV, although they represent just 12% of the United
16States population; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Nearly 43,000 residents of Illinois are living
18with HIV (including the undiagnosed) and 51% of people newly
19diagnosed with HIV are African-American; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Young African-American gay men under the age of 30

 

 

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1in Chicago have an infection rate three times greater than
2their white counterparts; and
 
3    WHEREAS, At the current rate of infection, nationally 1 in
44 gay African-American men will become HIV-positive by the time
5they are 25, and 1 in 2 will have HIV by the time they are 35;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Of those African-Americans that are HIV-positive,
8fewer than half are prescribed antiretroviral therapy (HIV
9medication), and just 37% reach viral suppression; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Over two-thirds of women diagnosed with HIV in the
11United States are African-American; Center for Disease Control
12data reports that by race/ethnicity, African-American
13transgender women have the highest percentage of new HIV
14positive test results; and
 
15    WHEREAS, HIV medications taken daily (Pre-Exposure
16Prophylaxis or PrEP) have a greater than 90% chance of
17preventing HIV infection in people who are HIV-negative, but
18awareness of PrEP and access to PrEP is low in the most
19vulnerable communities; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly and administration
21failed to transfer money to the African-American American

 

 

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1HIV/AIDS Response Fund resulting in an inability to make grants
2to organizations focused on fighting the epidemic in the
3African-American community; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Numerous organizations, faith-based institutions,
5public health entities, and impacted citizens are hosting
6community events to recognize this day and its importance to
7African-Americans and all concerned citizens; and
 
8    WHEREAS, It is fitting that we join with these local,
9national, and international groups to express our strong
10support for National African-American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
11and the initiatives to prevent HIV/AIDS in African-American
12communities and provide access to and utilization of HIV/AIDS
13prevention, treatment, and support services to those affected
14by HIV/AIDS; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17designate February 7, 2015 as National African-American
18HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in Illinois, and encourage local
19residents to strongly support this day and participate in
20events planned to commemorate the occasion.