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CNN Live At Daybreak
World AIDS Day
Aired December 01, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is World AIDS Day today and events are already under way around the globe to raise awareness to that deadly virus. In Capetown, South Africa, performers like Bono and Beyonce Knowles took part in a star-studded AIDS benefit concert over the weekend. It was hosted by the country's former president, Nelson Mandela.
AIDS has hit South Africa harder than any other country in the world. More than five million South Africans are infected with HIV.
And HIV infections are on the rise in the United States, too. African-Americans are especially hard hit, making up half of all newly reported HIV cases.
And as CNN's Christy Feig reports, for black women, the infection rate is even worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN ADAMS: Deandre (ph).
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Robin Adams (ph) was diagnosed with HIV five years ago, she couldn't believe it.
ADAMS: The biggest scare is oh, well, god, I've got HIV-AIDS. Now what? What? You live. You learn how to live over again.
FEIG: Adams is not alone. African-Americans make up more than half of all new HIV infections, more than any other group in the U.S. Black women in particular are at risk.
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: We are very concerned about HIV infection among African-American women. In some studies, up to 75 percent of the new infections are occurring in these populations.
Configurable Valencia Dillon-Donaldson sees the problem firsthand. She runs a program for African-American women with HIV.
VALENCIA DILLON-DONALDSON, WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC: I am watching the virus do a rapid deterioration in black women. I don't see nobody jumping up. I see no one screaming. I see no one acting up about what is happening in our community. We're in trouble. We're in real trouble.
FEIG: She says many of the factors causing these numbers to rise could be countered if women would insist their partners use a condom. The CDC believes testing for HIV would reduce some of the new infections. They estimate 200,000 Americans are infected with the virus and don't know it. And studies show once people do know they're infected, they take steps to protect their partners.
In Washington, I'm Christy Feig.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And here's a snapshot of just how bad HIV is. Figures from the United Nations indicate that worldwide there were more than 38 1/2 million adults and more than three million children living with HIV at the end of 2002. And during the year, another five million people became infected with the virus. About half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 years old.
You can find out more about the global AIDS crisis by logging onto our Web site at cnn.com. the AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 1, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is World AIDS Day today and events are already under way around the globe to raise awareness to that deadly virus. In Capetown, South Africa, performers like Bono and Beyonce Knowles took part in a star-studded AIDS benefit concert over the weekend. It was hosted by the country's former president, Nelson Mandela.
AIDS has hit South Africa harder than any other country in the world. More than five million South Africans are infected with HIV.
And HIV infections are on the rise in the United States, too. African-Americans are especially hard hit, making up half of all newly reported HIV cases.
And as CNN's Christy Feig reports, for black women, the infection rate is even worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN ADAMS: Deandre (ph).
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Robin Adams (ph) was diagnosed with HIV five years ago, she couldn't believe it.
ADAMS: The biggest scare is oh, well, god, I've got HIV-AIDS. Now what? What? You live. You learn how to live over again.
FEIG: Adams is not alone. African-Americans make up more than half of all new HIV infections, more than any other group in the U.S. Black women in particular are at risk.
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: We are very concerned about HIV infection among African-American women. In some studies, up to 75 percent of the new infections are occurring in these populations.
Configurable Valencia Dillon-Donaldson sees the problem firsthand. She runs a program for African-American women with HIV.
VALENCIA DILLON-DONALDSON, WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC: I am watching the virus do a rapid deterioration in black women. I don't see nobody jumping up. I see no one screaming. I see no one acting up about what is happening in our community. We're in trouble. We're in real trouble.
FEIG: She says many of the factors causing these numbers to rise could be countered if women would insist their partners use a condom. The CDC believes testing for HIV would reduce some of the new infections. They estimate 200,000 Americans are infected with the virus and don't know it. And studies show once people do know they're infected, they take steps to protect their partners.
In Washington, I'm Christy Feig.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And here's a snapshot of just how bad HIV is. Figures from the United Nations indicate that worldwide there were more than 38 1/2 million adults and more than three million children living with HIV at the end of 2002. And during the year, another five million people became infected with the virus. About half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 years old.
You can find out more about the global AIDS crisis by logging onto our Web site at cnn.com. the AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
