On Thursday, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, former Macon City Council President Anita Ponder and some 16 other civic leaders announced the formation of a group aimed at curbing the spread of HIV among African-American women in Middle Georgia.

The Association of Informed and Dedicated Sisters will focus on HIV education and testing. Among its membership are female politicians, health care professionals, and AIDS activists. The idea for the group came about when the women met to discuss HIV/AIDS outreach strategies.

"This is an issue that we can't just sit back on the sideline and not take some active stance on," said Ponder, the association's chairperson.

Linda Holland, nurse manager for the Macon-Bibb County Health Department, said one of the group's goals is to empower women so that they make better choices regarding their health and sexual relationships. Women must insist that their partners use condoms, she said, since HIV/AIDS treatment advances have erased outward appearances of infection, and some may not disclose their status before having sex.

"They're healthier," Holland said of people with HIV. "They're getting nutritional counseling. They're taking their medication. So, that person is in that two-piece suit that looks wonderful, and [they] may not be so wonderful."

Holland noted that women are less likely than men to get tested for HIV, sometimes out of embarrassment. The association plans to hold a large testing event in June, she said.

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