Eva M. Clayton: “Mr. Speaker, this week is the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the virus. After 20 years, a vaccine is still not on…”

“Mr. Speaker, this week is the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the virus. After 20 years, a vaccine is still not on hand, and 20 years later, the African American population is disproportionately affected by this virus. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have mentioned some of the devastating statistics: worldwide, 36 million people are now infected, and 21.8 million have died, including 3 million last year. Each year, 5.5 million new people are infected. That figure represents more than 15,000 victims a year. However, I wish to focus on my State of North Carolina. According to figures from last year, North Carolina ranked 23rd among 50 States and the District of Columbia in terms of the number of AIDS cases. Most North Carolina HIV disease reports highlight the male population; 65.5 percent were African American, and 72.1 percent of them fell between the ages of 30 and 39 years of age. The statistics from my district are even more unsettling. African Americans accounted for 87 percent of cases reported in my district in 2000.”