Welcome to the first edition of CONNECTIONS, the bi-monthly NCHHSTP e-newsletter. With the new year, we launch this new communication tool to improve collaboration, and strengthen relationships with our partners, like you, who are vital to our mission of maximizing public health and safety nationally and internationally through the elimination, prevention, and control of disease, disability, and death caused by HIV/AIDS, non-HIV retroviruses, viral hepatitis, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis (TB), and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria.

In this and future editions, we will provide our latest surveillance reports, introduce new activities and update ongoing activities, and share successes and best practices.

While there isn't enough space in one newsletter to cover all of the important activities surrounding HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention, we hope this newsletter will be a resource for information and opportunities to work together more effectively. I encourage you to share feedback and ideas by e-mailing me at
nchhstpdirector@cdc.gov.

National Black HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day

February 7, 2008, marks the eighth annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a day dedicated to the prevention of HIV/AIDS in the African American community. This year's theme, Prevention is Power, encourages African Americans to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated.

HIV/AIDS has had a tremendous impact on the African American community. When looking at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicities, African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of this disease, and as a result, have more illness, more deaths, and shorter survival times than any other racial or ethnic group. Although HIV is not directly related to race or ethnicity, some blacks face unique challenges, such as poverty, stigma, high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse, which may place them at greater risk of contracting HIV.

Working in conjunction with CDC, the Strategic Leadership Council is responsible for strategically directing and overseeing NBHAAD and assists in coordinating the overall planning of what will occur leading up to February 7. Organizations supporting NBHAAD are highly encouraged to visit www.blackaidsday.org to download materials, access the planning toolkit, and register their events.

Fighting the epidemic requires urgent, widespread, sustained action by all of us. CDC is currently working with African American leaders from every sector and with our public health partners on a Heightened National Response to HIV in the black community. Together, we are intensifying HIV prevention efforts on four fronts: expanding the reach of prevention programs; increasing opportunities for HIV testing and treatment; developing new, effective prevention strategies; and mobilizing broader community action.

CDC and our NBHAAD partners encourage African Americans to make February 7 the day to get tested for HIV, get educated about HIV, and talk to loved ones about the disease. Prevention is power - the power to educate and to make a difference... more

A major strategic priority for NCHHSTP, Program Collaboration and Service Integration (PCSI) will focus on improving collaboration between programs in order to enhance integrated service delivery at the client level, or point of service delivery... more

On March 24, millions across the globe will observe World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. World TB Day is an annual observance commemorating the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacteria that cause TB, forever establishing the most important step taken towards the control and elimination of this disease.

With almost 2 billion people infected and 2 million TB-related deaths yearly, TB remains a global public health threat. By observing World TB Day, CDC and our partners hope to educate the public about the devastation TB can spread and how it can be eliminated.