San Francisco group launches AIDS campaign targeting black gay men (7479)

A new advertising campaign by San Francisco's Promotions West and the Community Education Group seeks to provide HIV prevention messages to African-American men who have sex with other men but who do not identify as either gay or bisexual, reports the Bay Area Reporter. The campaign uses an advice-giving character called "Miss Ellie," an older African-American woman, whose image appears on bus shelters, inside public transportation, and in print media. The ads urge black men who have sex with men to use condoms and to be tested for HIV antibodies. Nearly 20 AIDS service organizations in the Bay Area were involved in creating the campaign.

"With the rising rate of HIV in our community, there should be many campaigns on the streets targeting various segments of the African-American community," said Toni Young, executive director of the Community Education Group. African-Americans account for a majority of San Francisco's HIV cases. For more information about the campaign, go online to www.communityeducationgroup.org.