Philadelphia NAACP Hosts HIV Training for Faith Leaders

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A shocking statistic: According to The Black Church and HIV initiative, in Philadelphia, 63.3% of all people living with HIV/AIDS are African American. That’s why the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP is teaming up with Rev. Glen Spaulding of Deliverance Evangelistic Church to offer a training for faith leaders in Philadelphia this Thursday, June 18th.

The Black Church and HIV initiative states, “In the United States, the Black community is more impacted by HIV than any other race or ethnicity, accounting for 44 percent of all people living with HIV, and nearly half of all new diagnoses. In fact, if Black America were its own country, it would rank 16th in the world for new HIV diagnoses, ahead of Ethiopia, Botswana and Haiti. HIV is the most pressing health issue facing Black Americans today, and the disproportionate impact has made a social justice issue.”

The training, which will take place at Deliverance Evangelistic Church at 2001 West Lehigh Avenue starting at 9:30 am, will address faith leaders in the region on the growing epidemic of HIV in the Black community. The rationale behind addressing faith leaders is relatively simple: “An estimated 20 million Black Americans attend church every week. Pastors have an unparalleled opportunity to engage parishioners to end HIV stigma and begin to view the disease as a critical social justice issue facing their communities.”

The Black Church and HIV initiative aims to engage over 3,000 faith leaders across the country, which they believe, in return, could communicate to over 1.125 million people in their faith communities. For more information on the project, visit their webpage.