When Jeff Collins heard that a minority teen-ager had been diagnosed with HIV in Anne Arundel County earlier this year, he said he became angry.
Angry, he said, because despite an array of AIDS awareness campaigns, it was clear some people have not been getting the message.
"HIV transmission is worse than ever," said Collins, executive director of Love & Action, a national Christian AIDS ministry based in Annapolis. "We need to remind our young people that if they are sexually active, they are putting themselves at risk for infection."
With the 13th World AIDS Day observances scheduled today around the world under the theme "AIDS: Men Make a Difference," county AIDS organizations and health providers have called for renewed campaigns targeted at youths and minorities, especially in African-American communities.
It's a message they will take to the annual World AIDS Day candlelight vigil, scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the Harbormaster's Office at City Dock in Annapolis, to remember those affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
Many say that part of the effort to curb the AIDS epidemic must include changing many commonly held attitudes, including the way men view risk and how boys are socialized to become men. Society's expectations of men as stronger than women translate into sexual behaviors that endanger themselves and others, health and AIDS service providers said.
This year's theme emphasizes the impact of HIV and AIDS on African-Americans. African-Americans make up 14 percent to 16 percent of county residents, yet account for 65 percent of new HIV cases, health department statistics show.
Nationally, African-Americans make up about 12 percent of the population but nearly 37 percent of reported AIDS cases.
Maryland ranks ninth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the cumulative number of AIDS cases and fourth in AIDS incidence rate - 29.5 cases per 100,000 - state health department figures show.
County health data show that 677 AIDS cases have been reported since 1982 and that 52 percent of them have occurred among African-Americans; 79 percent among males.
Male-to-male sex, injection-drug use and heterosexual contact are the three leading modes of transmission in the county.
"It's important to have an open dialogue with young people," said the Rev. Sheryl Menendez, who does youth outreach for Light of the World Family Ministries. "There is still so much fear associated with AIDS and sex."
She said was pleasantly surprised Wednesday when the youth group she mentors at Bates Middle School told her that members wanted to discuss issues of sex and sexuality on a local radio program produced by her church.
Some providers said the AIDS prevention campaigns have lost steam in the wake of increased focus on new drugs that prolong the life of those infected with HIV.
"I call for people to remember that although it's World AIDS Day, there are people living with HIV and AIDS every day of the year," said Tony Teano, director of client/volunteer services at the HIV/AIDS Volunteer Enrichment Network (HAVEN), a county agency that serves those affected by the virus. "It hasn't gone away in Anne Arundel County."
Information: HAVEN, 410-224- 2437; Love & Action, 410-268- 3442; the county Health Department, 410-222-7108.
