The rates of HIV
among young African-American men who have sex with men
have skyrocketed, reported the Centers for Disease Control
on Thursday.
The rates of HIV
among young African-American men who have sex with men
have skyrocketed, reported the Centers for Disease Control
on Thursday.
The CDC's report
showed that in the 33 states where data was collected,
the number of HIV or AIDS cases increased among all adult
and adolescent MSM in all age groups from 2001
through 2005. The largest increase came with
African-American MSM ages 13-24, with a staggering 80%
increase.
"This dramatic
increase in HIV rates is yet another in a series of
clarion calls to Congress and the Department of Health and
Human Services that young people need culturally
relevant and realistic sex education to protect their
health and save their lives," said Debra Hauser,
executive vice president of Advocates for Youth, in a
release.
The CDC's news
follows recent reports that one in four teen girls has a
sexually transmitted disease and teen birth rates increased
for the first time in more than a decade.
"We will never be
able to adequately address the sexual health needs of
young people when our government insists upon funding
abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that censor vital
information about contraception and condoms and
demonize homosexuality. All young people have the
right to honest sexual health information," said
Hauser. (The Advocate)
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