Officials from the White House, Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control announced a new domestic HIV/AIDS-prevention campaign this week, marking the first time the federal government has funded a media promotion focused on national HIV/AIDS issues in nearly 20 years.
The Act Against AIDS campaign, launched April 7, will use various communication channels, including video, audio and print, to target specific at-risk communities, such as African Americans, Latinos and gay and bisexual men. The five-year campaign will cost about $45 million, officials said.
The first leg of the campaign, “9 1⁄2 Minutes,” will highlight the statistic that one person is infected with HIV every nine-and-a-half minutes in the United States, with the goal of driving home the need for HIV risk awareness, said Jeffrey Crowley, openly gay director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.
“In the United States, every nine-and-a-half minutes someone’s brother, sister, best friend, father or mother becomes infected with HIV. Yet research shows that many of those becoming infected do not recognize their risk,” he said. “This is a major concern because lack of knowledge contributes to increased risk behaviors.”
The “9 1⁄2 Minutes” campaign will reach Americans through online banner ads and videos, transit ads and radio spots. More information about this first phase can be found at www.NineAndAHalfMinutes.org.
The next campaign will promote HIV testing among African-American gay and bisexual men. Pilot testing for this program will begin later this spring, with the campaign expected to launch nationwide early next year.
CDC representatives also announced the agency would partner with health-policy and communications organization Kaiser Family Foundation to unite entertainment and media organizations in spreading the campaign’s messages.
Act Against AIDS also will encompass a five-year, $10-million educational effort targeted to African-American communities. The campaign’s Leadership Initiative will provide funding to 14 leading African-American national organizations to support their efforts to disseminate the message.
Melody Barnes, assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said the campaign aims to redirect the country’s attention to the still-pervasive diseases.
“Act Against AIDS seeks to put the HIV crisis back on the national radar screen,” Barnes said. “Our goal is to remind Americans that HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious health threat in the United States and encourage them to get the facts they need to take action for themselves and their communities.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].