Project Inform Applauds the HIV/AIDS Atlas

San Francisco, CA -- Today, the National Minority Quality Forum released their groundbreaking HIV/AIDS Atlas -- www.MapHIV.org -- an online tool that highlights the local impact of the epidemic across the United States. Using county-level prevalence data, the Atlas allows users to focus HIV/AIDS statistics by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, where available. It also allows users to see their congressional state legislative districts overlaid on top of the county-level data.

In response, Dana Van Gorder, executive director with Project Inform, issued the following statement:

"It's been thirty years since we discovered the disease, and yet HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health problem. With the second highest rate in the nation, it's estimated that almost 40,000 HIV-positive Californians don't even know that they carry the virus, and 50 percent of those with HIV/AIDS are currently not in treatment.

"Today's launch of the HIV/AIDS Atlas marks an important step forward in expanding public access to HIV/AIDS data. The Atlas will be a critical tool because for the first time, communities can know their collective status and work to improve early diagnosis and routine testing efforts wherever it is needed most.

"I applaud the National Minority Quality Forum for providing such a powerful tool for our communities, and I urge all elected officials, advocates and citizens to utilize the Atlas to help stem the tide of this disease."