'Project Runway' Designer in D.C. to Educate About Living with HIV and Combat Stigma Associated with the Disease Through Living Positive By Design

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Mackenroth, from the hit reality television series "Project Runway," is visiting Washington, D.C. for Whitman-Walker Clinic's 17th Annual Spring Gala, Masquerade on the Mall, and is bringing Living Positive By Design, his national HIV and AIDS education initiative supported by Merck, to the city.  On Friday, April 23, Jack will host the Gala, which helps to support Whitman-Walker Clinic and the thousands of patients in the D.C. area that benefit from its care.

"I'm proud to be able to bring Living Positive By Design to our nation's capital, especially given that this city has the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in the U.S.," said Mackenroth, who has been living with HIV for more than 20 years.  "While in D.C., I want to highlight the importance of people living with HIV to work with their physicians to find a tolerable treatment regimen that can reduce the amount of virus in their blood.  Given all the treatment options that are available today, people living with HIV need to know the importance of proper disease management to help them maintain a good quality of life."

The Living Positive By Design campaign seeks to help combat the stigma associated with HIV by engaging people in thoughtful conversation about the disease.  Since the launch of Living Positive By Design in 2008, Jack has visited nine cities, brining the campaign's messages to cities hardest hit by the HIV epidemic.  He will continue to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS through events in additional cities throughout 2010.  For more information on Living Positive By Design, please visit: www.LivingPositiveByDesign.com.

"Whitman-Walker Clinic is proud to have Jack Mackenroth join us as the host of our 17th Annual Spring Gala," said Don Blanchon, Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Clinic.  "As a community leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS and as one of the oldest and largest HIV health centers in the Washington, D.C. area, Whitman-Walker Clinic, like the Living Positive By Design campaign, works to highlight the importance for people living with HIV to have a positive outlook on life while effectively managing their disease and works to combat the stigma still associated with HIV."

Prevalence of HIV and AIDS

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one million Americans are living with HIV and AIDS in the U.S. and approximately 55,000 new people become infected every year. A 2008 report from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health showed that the city had an HIV prevalence rate of three percent, the highest in the nation. Additionally, nearly 70 percent of the HIV and AIDS cases in D.C. were in men and 76 percent were in African-Americans.

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SOURCE Living Positive By Design