On Monday, July 31, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Dr. Marjorie Hill, Interim Executive Director of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Laverne Patent, Peer Educator at the Women’s Institute at GMHC, and City Council Member David Yassky to launch a new campaign to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic among women of color in Central Brooklyn.

Posters featuring the images of three women and the tagline: “AIDS. Protect yourself. Protect each other. We can help.” will be featured at subway entrances in some of the Brooklyn neighborhoods with the highest rates of HIV infection among women of color.
By 2010 women will account for 50% of all AIDS cases in New York City according to estimates by the Women’s HIV Collaborative of New York. Women of color comprise 89% of all women living with AIDS in New York City. Outpacing trends in New York City, HIV/AIDS is increasingly affecting women in Central Brooklyn, especially black women.

“The increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Central Brooklyn is nothing short of a state of emergency, which is why we will continue to fight to raise awareness, and end the personal and governmental complacency that breeds infection, with efforts like this one," said Borough President Markowitz. “This campaign will help turn the tide of HIV-AIDS among all Central Brooklynites and women of color to ensure the entire borough receives the very best prevention, treatment, and care our prosperous nation has to offer.”