[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ``HIV/AIDS: THE STATE OF THE EPIDEMIC WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR''

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                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2001

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity thank 
the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the 
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus for holding their joint 
hearing on the critical issue of HIV/AIDS and its impact on communities 
of color today.
  I need to look no further than my own home state of Illinois to see 
the horrific impact of HIV/AIDS. Since 1981, 23,000 Illinoisans of an 
estimated 28,000 to 38,000 HIV positive persons in Illinois have been 
diagnosed with AIDS. Of those 23,000 AIDS cases, an estimated 14,000 or 
62 percent, have died. The number of AIDS cases in Illinois is the 
sixth highest total in the U.S.
  The impact on minority communities is especially devastating. African 
Americans represent 59 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Illinois in 
2000 and 68 percent of all cases in Chicago in 1999. Minority women are 
particularly impacted by HIV/AIDS. Among HIV positive women in 
Illinois, more than 80 percent are non white.
  Only through efforts like the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative can we 
begin to turn the tide on the war against HIV/AIDS. The Minority HIV/
AIDS Initiative allows communities of color to create and improve HIV/
AIDS service capacity in their communities. In my own Congressional 
District in Chicago, Lakeside Community Committee, which operates an 
HIV/AIDS Awareness program, recently applied for a grant under the 
Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative which would enable it to reach an 
additional 5,000 clients this year. Lakeside's overall goal is to 
secure funding to reach a minimum of 25,000 individuals on Chicago's 
South Side. The primary benefit to Lakeside of the Minority HIV/AIDS 
Initiative would be the dissemination of educational information about 
at risk behaviors and safe sex.
  In recent years, HIV/AIDS has spread rapidly amongst minority 
populations. Because Illinois has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection 
rates in America, it is imperative that we, as a community, work to 
effectively address this problem. Through grass roots initiatives, 
including the HIV/AIDS Minority Initiative, we can begin to make the 
HIV/AIDS epidemic within minority populations history.

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