Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS among African Americans

In the United States, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a health crisis for African Americans. At all stages of HIV/AIDS—from infection with HIV to death with AIDS—blacks (including African Americans) are disproportionately affected compared with members of other races and ethnicities [1, 2].

STATISTICS
HIV/AIDS in 2005

According to the 2000 census, blacks make up approximately 13% of the US population. However, in 2005, blacks accounted for 18,121 (49%) of the estimated 37,331 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting [2].*
Of all black men living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact [2].
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Ethiopia Shuts Warehouses

By Jason McLure

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia, Africa’s largest coffee producer, closed the warehouses of the country’s six largest exporters of the beans and suspended their licenses after accusing the brokers of hoarding the crop, the government said. more

Identical at Birth: World Worst Dictator

16. Meles Zenawi
Ethiopia
Age: 53
In power since: 1995
Last year’s rank: 15

A former guerrilla leader, Meles shows no signs of sharing power with anyone. In January, his government passed a law forbidding any NGO that receives more than 10% of its budget from abroad from doing human rights work in Ethiopia. Despite Meles’ excesses, the U.S. considers him an important regional ally and continues to train his more

Addis Abeba — The NGO legislation could potentially restrict the operations of civil society organisations, as well as international partners' assistance to Ethiopian Government's development priorities, despite claims by the government the new law will not affect majority of civil society and NGOs operating in the country, the European Union said on Friday. more

Birtu-Can! Yes, We Can!

On March 2, 2009, Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia throughout the world will be taking to the streets to protest human rights violations by the ruling regime, and to demand the release of all political prisoners. The preeminent political prisoner and the undisputed symbol of democratic resistance in Ethiopia today is Birtukan Mideksa, chairperson of Andenet party (Unity for Democracy and Justice party). Over two months ago, Birtukan was strong-armed, manhandled and whisked away to the infamous Kality prison by armed thugs. Her crime (don’t laugh), “Pardon Denying.” Her “life sentence” by a kangaroo court was reinstated because she allegedly told an Ethiopian audience in Sweden that she and other political prisoners were released in July 2007 following negotiations with the ruling regime in Ethiopia. In her response to a regime ultimatum to retract the alleged pardon denial, she issued a clear public statement acknowledging receipt of a pardon: “As one of the prisoners I had indeed signed the [pardon] document, a fact which I have never denied. I have asked forgiveness through the elders by signing on the document dated June 18, 2006. This is a fact that I cannot change even if I want to.” more