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BLACK PASTORS SET HIV TEST EXAMPLE IN NASHVILLE: Health Department trying too slow the spread of HIV with testing campaign.
It set off a HIV testing campaign with the first test kit going to Rev. Raymond Bowman. The test took less then a couple of minutes with a simple swiping inside the mouth.
That same scene was repeated in other predominantly African-American churches around Nashville. The purpose is to send a message that HIV testing is needed and is a very simple test. They want every adult to know their status.
The HIV tests were part of the Metro Health Department’s effort. They are trying to harness the power and influence of black churches. The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated at least 250,000 people in the United States are infected with HIV and are not aware of it. The article stated that African-Americans contract HIV and die of AIDS at disproportionate rates.
The statistical numbers that the article report are that blacks are 13 percent of the U.S. population but make up 49 percent of AIDS cases. That AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 34 and the second-leading cause of death for black men ages 35 to 44.
The results of the rapid HIV test from the churches were available the same day but given to the test takers over the phone by the Metro Health Department for added privacy.
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