Black HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group in Kansas Discusses Creating Culturally Specific Information, Community Programs

The new Wichita, Kan.-based black HIV/AIDS advocacy group Sankofa Health Collective met on Saturday to begin plans to create culturally specific prevention and intervention information, the Wichita Eagle reports. Participants at the meeting, which was attended by about 60 people and held at Wichita State University, emphasized the urgency for the new group to take action because black people are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in the region. Between 2000 and 2002, blacks represented 6% of the state's population but 26% of its AIDS cases, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Participants discussed how to ask loved ones if they know their HIV status; how unhealthy sexual messages are portrayed in music, movies and other media; how to address drug use in the family; and the need for increased communication about HIV/AIDS. Local attorney Barbara James said she organized the meeting to lay the foundation for a community plan to fight HIV/AIDS among blacks, and people from across the region are being encouraged to participate (Woods, Wichita Eagle, 8/21).