Prevention CDC estimates that 56,300 new HIV infections

Prevention

CDC estimates that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006.²⁶ Populations of minority races/ethnicities are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. To further reduce the incidence of HIV infection, CDC announced a new initiative, Advancing HIV Prevention, in 2003. This initiative comprises 4 strategies: making HIV testing a routine part of medical care, implementing new models for diagnosing HIV infections outside medical settings, preventing new infections by working with HIV-infected persons and their partners, and further decreasing perinatal HIV transmission.

In the United States, women, particularly women of color, are at risk for HIV infection. CDC, through the Department of Health and Human Services Minority AIDS Initiative, explores ways to reduce disparities in communities made up of persons of minority races/ethnicities who are at high risk for HIV infection. CDC is also conducting demonstration projects in which women's social networks are used to reach high-risk persons in communities of color; CDC is also conducting outreach and testing for partners of HIV-infected men. Additionally, CDC recognizes the importance of further incorporating culture- and gender-relevant material into current interventions.²⁷

CDC funds prevention programs in state and local health departments and community-based organizations. The following are examples.

• Illinois, Access Community Health Network, which is the largest network of community health centers in the nation, receives funding to implement counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) in Chicago communities with the highest rates of HIV diagnosis and funding to implement SISTA (Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS), a social-skills training program aimed at reducing HIV sexual risk behavior among African American women at high risk for HIV infection.
• In Massachusetts, CAB Health & Recovery Services, Inc., receives funding for HIV risk-reduction counseling and prevention case management and for Women RISE (Risk Identification, Strategies, and Empowerment), an HIV prevention services program that engages women and their partners who are at very high risk for HIV infection, who are homeless and living in family shelters, or who are identified through street outreach.
• In California, the Orange County Bar Foundation adapts SISTA for Latinas aged 18-24 years.
• In Florida, the Center for Multicultural Wellness & Prevention, Inc., addresses, through SISTA and CTR, the health issues that affect African American and Haitian women.
• In New York, the Community Healthcare Network provides prevention services through counseling, comprehensive risk counseling and referral, and RAPP (Real AIDS Prevention Project) interventions to African American and Hispanic women