Despite the slue of advertisements that continuously urge African-Americans to either get tested for HIV or to practice STD preventative efforts or to just become knowledgeable of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their community, there are still staggering numbers of blacks who become infected with the virus everyday.

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            Within the African-American community, AIDS is the number one killer of African-American women, and they are more likely to die from AIDS than any other minority group.   

            NAACP executives stated in their Call to Action on Health that this fact is unacceptable and Pfizer, the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company, shares this sentiment.

     “Together, Pfizer and NAACP are tackling the silent crisis of healthcare disparities in the African-American community,” says Golden Life Member and Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals president Pat Kelly.

            Pfizer and the oldest civil rights organization in the nation joined forces in a three-year $1 million dollar partnership to bring health awareness to corporate bodies, community policy-makers, and government health officials of the health disparities toward African-Americans.

            Both Pfizer and the NAACP are developing and promoting a DVD entitled, “Women Like You,” in an effort to promote awareness of the virus, to provide prevention measures, and to dialogue among African-American women. 

            This July in Milwaukee Pfizer will exclusively sponsor the health fair at the annual NAACP convention.  The pharmaceutical group will provide screenings, healthcare information, the aforementioned DVD, and discussion guides for NAACP branches.  

           CEO and president of the NAACP, Kweisi Mfume, called for a collective effort so that the knowledge about this problem translates into solutions and be eradicated this for our daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters.