LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leaders from the Black AIDS Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met recently to finalize the details of a four and one-half year grant to fund the Institute's African American HIV University (AAHU) Community Mobilization College.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091029/DC01392)

The AAHU Community Mobilization College is a comprehensive training and internship fellowship program aimed at strengthening organizational and individual capacity to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black communities. The program is designed to decrease stigma and misperception and increase the engagement of the Black community in HIV prevention and treatment services. This is achieved through leadership development and information transfer among key stakeholders.

Using the AAHU Community Mobilization Model as a foundation, the CMC curriculum prepares community-based and AIDS service organizations to engage traditional Black institutions such as churches, civil rights and social organizations, Black political leaders, sororities/fraternities, academia and the Black media in local strategies to fight HIV. The CMC uses a unique method for exploring the complex issues and barriers that prevent many in the Black community from using HIV prevention services.

Since 2000, the Black AIDS Institute has graduated more than 50 AAHU Fellows from around the United States and Africa. The next class is expected to be enrolling in early 2010.

For more information on the AAHU program, or for an application for CMC, please visit www.BlackAIDS.org and select Projects and Programs.

Founded in May of 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute's Mission is to stop the AIDS pandemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. The Institute interprets public and private sector HIV policies, conducts trainings, offers technical assistance, disseminates information and provides advocacy from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.

SOURCE Black AIDS Institute

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http://www.blackaids.org