Elton John AIDS Foundation joins with Black AIDS Media Partnership

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) has joined as a core organizing partner for the Black AIDS Media Partnership (BAMP), a coalition of media companies convened by the Kaiser Family Foundation - including American Urban Radio Networks, CBS Outdoor, Clear Channel Communications, ESSENCE Communications, the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, and the National Newspaper Publishers' Association, among others - for the purpose of developing and building a national movement in response to AIDS in Black America.

A primary partner for this initiative is the Black AIDS Institute, a significant EJAF grantee for the past several years.

On June 25, 2009, BAMP launched a new national media campaign - Greater Than AIDS - to raise awareness and to strengthen a sense of community among Black Americans in response to HIV/AIDS.

According to Phill Wilson, Founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, "The central idea behind the campaign is to remind us as Black Americans that we are greater than any challenge we have ever faced, and that we are greater than AIDS as well. It is about a shared responsibility in the face of AIDS - and hope for the possibility of an HIV-free future."

To learn more about the campaign, visit:www.greaterthan.org

AIDS has disproportionately affected Black Americans since the beginning of the epidemic, and today African Americans account for nearly half of all new HIV-infections in the U.S., while representing just 12% of the population. As noted in the Black AIDS Institute's seminal report (funded in part by EJAF) Left Behind! Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS Epidemic, if the African American population of the US were to be conceptualized as a country called "Black America," it would rank below 104 other countries in terms of life expectancy because of AIDS. More Black Americans are living with HIV/AIDS than the infected populations in Botswana, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda or Vietnam.

EJAF is extremely proud to partner with the Kaiser Family Foundation and the members of the Black AIDS Media Partnership on this important project, as part of the Foundation's continuing enhancement of its targeted grant initiative addressing the HIV prevention needs of the African American community.

Please visit www.ejaf.org to find detailed information about EJAF's mission and history and to make secure, tax-deductible, online donations in support of our work.

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