It’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and Being Black is Under Attack

STILL BLACK AND PROUD:

It’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and Being Black is Under Attack

February 7 is National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), which was first observed in 1999. This observance was established as a day to acknowledge how HIV disproportionately affects Black people. The most recent Illinois Department of Public Health reports (for year ending 2023) note that non-Hispanic African Americans (Black people) are only 14% of the population in Illinois, yet are 47% of new HIV Diagnoses and 52% of existing AIDS diagnoses. Yet today, organizations are being cautioned by attorneys and legislators to find ways not to use the word “Black” when referencing the inequitable incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS on the African American community because of the government’s targeting elimination of funding and services to “Black” people as a category of diversity, equity and inclusion.


The African American HIV/AIDS Response Act (AAHARA) allocated $15M d for AA-led CBOS in 2021 to be issued in 2022, 2023, 2024, has approximately $7M remaining today in coiffures of the Illinois Department of Public Health because of its systemic barriers to funding equity. And, though there have been several meetings with IDPH leadership with Black executive directors of AA-led grantees and State Legislators – including last week and this week – IDPH’s ongoing capacity limitations remain as a major roadblock to issuance of funding. BLACHE has been successful in advocating for grant administration of AAHARA to be moved from under IDPH’s HIV/AIDS Division to the Center for Minority Health, still policies and processes must be put into place to further dismantle systemic barriers to equitable funding of AA-led CBOs.


In 2006, when AAHARA was signed into law, non-Hispanic African Americans were 16% of the population and 47% of new HIV diagnoses, while IDPH awarded only 3% of its HIV/AIDS funding to African American-led service providers.


Today, nearly 20 years later, non-Hispanic African Americans are only 14% of the population in Illinois, yet STILL 47% of new HIV Diagnoses and 52% of existing AIDS diagnoses. And guess what? Of the $85M in available IDPH HIV/AIDS funding allocable for grants, all non-Hispanic AA-led CBOs combined have been granted less than $1.5M!! This means, if it were not for the GRF dollars allocated by the Illinois legislature for AAHARA grants, Black-led CBOs would be receiving less than 3% of funding through IDPH.


New funding for AAHARA must be allocated for the 2026 fiscal year which means concerted advocacy must be enacted during the current legislative session. In addition, government administration must address the barriers to equitable issuance and processing of funding to AA-led HIV/AIDS service providers.


At the beginning of 2024, the Illinois Department of Public Health declared that “Racism is a Public Health Issue.” The year before the leadership of the Chicago Department of Public Health declared the same message. Still both CDPH and IDPH have decades of histories in practicing inequitable funding relative to African American-led HIV/AIDS community based service providers.


This nation – this State, Will Not and Can Not “Get to Zero” -- and definitely not by the targeted 2030 -- unless African American-led HIV/AIDS service providers are equitably funded by Government and Private Foundations.


“Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities” Is the 2025 theme for NBHAAD. BLACHE urges Black people and Allies to actively advocate to engage and educate leaders and influences in order to empower Black people a, and for Black-led CBOS to unite to ensure that Black-led organizations are equitably resourced to negate the impact and incidence of HIV/AIDS in Black communities.


 ABOUT BLACHE:

Black Leadership Advocacy Coalition for Health Equity in Illinois (BLACHE) is a coalition of African American-led organizations in Illinois purposed to raise awareness of the incidence and impact of disease and relative healthcare services to African Americans throughout the State of Illinois and the policies and processes needed to equitably fund Black-led community-based organizations. BLACHE represents multiple African-American/Black-led CBOS which were founded by African-Americans and further defined (by the State of Illinois JCAR Code) as 1) a not-for-profit CBO which has a board of more than 50% African American, 2) has a headquarters located in a primarily African American community and 3) the majority of its clients are African Americans. Visit www.BlackAdvocacyLeaders.org for additional information.



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