by Nisa Islam Muhammad
Staff writer

WASHINGTON (Finalcall.com)�The U.S. government, as far back as the mid-1980s, knew there was a high incidence of HIV infection in Black women and did little, if anything, to prevent further mass infections, according to a report recently released by the National Political Congress of Black Women.

"In 1985-88, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) did blind testing on 96,000 people. The results showed a high rate of HIV among Black pregnant women. These women were never told they were infected and that their babies would probably be infected, too," said Dr. Patricia Funderburk Ware, president and CEO of PFW Consultants, which conducted the research for the report. "We knew in�85-�88 that the infection rate for Black women was higher than it was for white men."

The CDC reported in the July 26, 1990 New England Journal of Medicine that of nearly 90,000 Americans tested anonymously for HIV in 1988 and 1989 in 26 hospitals in 21 cities, the rate of infection in Blacks was approximately twice that of infections of whites.

In military data, from 1985-1988, which represented a greater number of diverse young people, the HIV infection rates for Blacks were four times higher than whites. Even then, Black women had a higher rate of infection than white men, the Congress, headed by C. Delores Tucker, reported.

Today, according to CDC statistics, almost two-thirds of all women reported with AIDS are Black. In June 2000, young Black females between 13-19 years of age represented 73 percent of all young women in this age group diagnosed with HIV.

Black children also represent almost two-thirds of all reported pediatric cases. The 1999 rate of reported AIDS cases among Blacks was 66 per 100,000 population, more than twice the rate of Hispanics and eight times greater than the rate for whites.

"We had the information and not only did the government do nothing about it, our leaders did nothing," charged Dr. Ware.

In the Black community, according to the report, "African American Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative," progress to end the epidemic was irrefutably impeded by fear, denial, prejudice and other negative attitudes associated with a disease that deals with issues of sexuality, especially homosexuality and drug abuse.

"People are finally coming to realize what I�ve been saying for years," said Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, minister of Health and Human Services for the Nation of Islam.

"My worst fears are coming true. I�m at a point where I�m very discouraged. The Black community is still blissfully unaware of what�s going on."

In the �80s, Dr. Muhammad knew about the high HIV infection rate in the Black community. He called for mass testing but the calls fell on deaf ears. So, why wasn�t anything done with the information the government knew way back then?

"The responsibility of doing something was a duality of government and community," explained Sundiata Alaye, executive director of the HIV Community Coalition in Washington, D.C.

"We sat silently by and didn�t do anything. But then, the African American community has never paid much attention to prevention. We go to the doctor after a stroke, rarely to prevent a stroke."

While much has been said about the Black community�s culpability in the spread of the disease, according to the report, this is not the major reason for the spread in the Black community.

The report states that a lack of sound public health policies affirmed and aggressively implemented by the U.S. Public Health Service appears to be the chief culprit.

From the beginning, AIDS has been a disease of mystery, fear and hysteria. The moment it was diagnosed as a communicable disease normal protocols were abandoned.

The CDC has a prescribed regimen for handling communicable diseases that includes diagnosis, routine confidential testing, treatment and partner notification. This formula stops the disease from spreading, observers note.

"What was done with HIV was totally different. There was blind testing where the person doesn�t know they�re being tested and don�t know the results of the test even if they�re positive. We also left it up to the infected person to notify their partner of the infection," said Dr. Ware.

This methodology for treatment, according to the report, contributed to the spread of disease rather than its prevention.

"The government could have responded better but while we were in denial, gay white men were responding and the government gave them everything. Now there�s money available for prevention but none of it targets the unique needs of African American women and none for men of color who have sex with men but don�t identify themselves as gay or bisexual," said Mr. Alaye.

"There is a great AIDS crisis in Africa but there�s also one here," said Dr. Tucker, who commissioned the study. "It�s all over our urban high schools and no one is speaking about it. This is the only organization saying that we�ll fight this until we win. It�s time for Congress to find out what�s going on. It�s been 20 years and it�s not over. The disease is growing in the Black community."

The report calls on federal, state and local public health services to speedily implement tried and proven public health strategies which have controlled and eradicated communicable and infectious diseases throughout time.

The recommendations say:

� Congress shall require all states to document and report to the CDC all HIV and AIDS cases

� Policies, funding and other resources should be determined and allocated based on documented and reported HIV and AIDS cases instead of AIDS alone

� Effective partner notification programs

� Routine testing of all pregnant women

� Mandatory HIV testing of all newborns

� Equitable funding for Black run community based organizations for HIV prevention and care to Black women.

"The U.S. government spent nearly $10 billion in 1999 and nearly $11 billion in 2000 on AIDS and we�re still being impacted as the fastest growing rate of new infections. Something has to be done," said Dr. Ware.