As we prepare to commemorate World AIDS Day on Saturday, no one should overlook the devastating toll the deadly disease has taken on the African-American community. Consider the following:

• Although African-Americans represent only 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, they were half of all AIDS cases detected in 2005;

• The rate of Blacks contracting AIDS is 10 times that of Whites and Black women have contracted AIDS at a rate 23 times higher than that of White women;

• Although African-Americans constitute only 16 percent of U.S. teenagers, they represent 69 percent of all new AIDS cases reported among teens;

• Black women account for 66 percent of all new AIDS cases among women and

• HIV- and AIDS-related death rates are highest among African-Americans, with Blacks accounting for 55 percent of such deaths.

There are some interesting facts among the numbers.

Both Black and White women were most likely to be infected through heterosexual activities. White women were more likely than Black women to have been infected as a result of drug use. And among men having sex with men, one study conducted in five cities found that 46 percent of such Black men were HIV infected compared to 21 percent of White men in that category.

There were some geographical variances as well. AIDS cases were highest in the eastern section of the country, with the District of Columbia leading the way with the highest rate. However, 51 percent of Blacks living with AIDS and 56 percent of all newly-reported cases among Blacks were in the South, where African-Americans make up only 19 percent of the region’s population.

Just nine states and Washington, D.C. account for 72 percent of all Blacks living with AIDS. In order, they are: New York (33,924), Florida (22,232), Texas (11,307), Georgia (11,255), Maryland (11,113), California (10,947), New Jersey (9,511), Pennsylvania (8,488), Illinois (8,042) and the District of Columbia (7,925).

Compounding matters, according to data assembled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Blacks with HIV/AIDS were more likely to be publicly insured or uninsured than their white counterparts, with over half (59 percent) relying on Medicaid compared to 32 percent of whites. One fifth of Blacks with HIV/AIDS (22 percent) were uninsured compared to 17 percent of whites. Blacks were also much less likely to be privately insured than whites (14 percent compared to 44 percent).”

What can be done?

On an individual level, African-Americans should eliminate risky sexual behavior. And even if one contracts HIV, they can live healthier lives by being tested and treated early. Unfortunately, HIV and AIDS are detected in more advanced stages among African-Americans.

From a public policy perspective, the Open Society Institute published a report earlier this year titled, “Improving Outcomes: Blueprint for a National AIDS Plan for the United States.” Chris Collins, the author of the study, observed, “It is time the United States develops what it asks of other nations that it supports in combating AIDS: a national plan that provides a roadmap for concrete and equitable results.”

According to the report, such a plan should:

1) Focus increased attention on concrete outcomes through reliance on evidence-based and cost-effective programming.

2) Set ambitious, visible and credible targets for improvement in a limited number of areas.

3) Identify clear priorities for action on the selected targets.

4) Set out specific objectives for multiple sectors, including government, civil society, community organizations, and business.

5) Make the prevention and treatment needs of African Americans a primary focus.

6) Promote and test innovative ideas about how to overcome structural barriers to more effective prevention and treatment.

7) Improve methods of measuring progress.

8) Make federal agencies responsible for coordinating the collaborative efforts of government, business, and civil society.

9) Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report regularly on the status of progress toward targets in the national plan.

In calling for a national plan to combat AIDS, the Open Society report does not ignore numerous panels and studies that have predated the report. Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Commission on the HIV epidemic, for example, issued 600 recommendations, most of them ignored. The Clinton administration issued its own National AIDS Strategy report in 1997. Most of its proposals were similarly ignored.

“Over 1.5 million infections and over a half million deaths into its 26-year-old HIV/AIDS epidemic, the United States still does not have a comprehensive strategic national plan to tackle AIDS within its own borders,” the Open Society report states. “The United States will spend over $16 billion on the domestic epidemic in fiscal year 2007…But no comprehensive plan will guide strategic use of AIDS-related dollars or hold government agencies accountable for steadily improved outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS or at risk of infection.”