Women And Girls Are Greater Than AIDS
Presented in partnership with
Contacts
NEWS RELEASE
March 6, 2012
Black Women from TV, Film and Music Speak Out in a Powerful New Message on National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10th):
“Make Every Moment, A Deciding Moment”
In support of National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10), Greater Than AIDS is partnering with the Community Education Group and the Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health to bring attention to the impact of the epidemic on women and girls in the U.S. — especially Black women, who have been disproportionately affected — with new public service messages, social media content and free community resources.
National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day spokesperson, Vanessa Williams (MELROSE PLACE/FOX, SOUL FOOD/SHOWTIME), along with Essence Atkins (ARE WE THERE YET/TBS, HALF AND HALF/UPN, SMART GUY/THE WB), Yvette Nicole Brown (COMMUNITY/NBC), Nadine Ellis (LET’S STAY TOGETHER/BET), Tamala Jones (CASTLE/ABC), MC Lyte (President of the L.A. Chapter of the Grammys Recording Academy), Naturi Naughton (NOTORIUS, FAME, 3LW, PLAYBOY CLUB/NBC), Shaun Robinson (ACCESS HOLLYWOOD) and Tamara Taylor (BONES/FOX) are among the celebrities who are speaking out about women and HIV/AIDS in this new message from Greater Than AIDS: “Women and Girls are Greater Than AIDS: Make Every Moment a Deciding Moment.” Television and radio (:30 second) public service ads (PSAs) are also being distributed.
“I am honored and humbled to join my sisters in the Hollywood community in adding our voices to the fight against HIV/AIDS. We have all been touched by this awful disease. We are painfully aware that for women in general, and particularly black women, every moment is a deciding moment,” said Vanessa Williams, who is also a board member of the Black AIDS Institute, a co-founding partner of Greater Than AIDS.
FREE informational materials, including posters, postcards, stickers and more, are available from the Greater Than AIDS online store to community organizations to use in National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day activities.
“Community Education Group is pleased to have partnered with Greater than AIDS to expand the reach and scope of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2012,” said Toni Young, Executive Director of Community Education Group.
“Women have been affected by HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic, an impact that has grown over time,: said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director, Health Communication & Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation, a co-founding partner of Greater Than AIDS. “By speaking out, these women are helping to address the stigma that allows HIV to spread.”
Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS today, more than a quarter (29 percent) are women. Black women are disproportionately affected, accounting for more than half (57%) of new infections occurring among women in the U.S.
“Given recent scientific developments that allow us to think about the end of the AIDS epidemic, it’s important that women are engaged and supported in this fight,” said Phill Wilson, Founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, a co-founding partner of Greater Than AIDS.
The new messages are part of series featuring leading Black celebrities developed for Greater Than AIDS by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Black AIDS Institute. Linda Jones of The Mass Appeal produced, and Vanessa Williams with Quincy LeNear and Deondray Gossett (THE DL CHRONICLES, THE VOICE) directed.
For more information about National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, please visit http://www.nwghaad.org and http://www.greaterthan.org/nwghaad.
About Greater Than AIDS
Greater Than AIDS is an unprecedented collaboration among a broad coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States, in particular among Black Americans and other disproportionately affected groups. Through a national media campaign and targeted community outreach, Greater Than AIDS aims to increase knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the disease.
The Kaiser Family Foundation — a leader in health policy and communications — provides strategic direction and day-to-day management, as well as oversees the production of the media campaign. The Black AIDS Institute — a think tank exclusively focused on AIDS in Black America — provides leadership and expert guidance and directs community engagement. Greater Than AIDS is developed in support of Act Against AIDS, an effort by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to refocus attention on the domestic epidemic. Additional, financial and substantive support is provided by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation and MAC AIDS Fund, among others.
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