The Red Pump Project - Nat'l Women and Girls HIV/Aids Awareness Day

Today I'm wearing red pumps. 

Why?  Because I joined this great project to raise awareness on the impact of HIV/Aids for women and girls.  The goal was to get 500 bloggers in 50 days to post the Rock the Red Pump badge on their blogs sidebar (as seen on mine ---->).  650 bloggers signed up in 25 days. 

Here are some staggering statistics about HIV/Aids in our country:

HIV/Aids in the US:

• Every 9 1/2 minutes, someone in the US is infected with HIV.
• There are more than 1 million adults and adolescents in the United States living with HIV. Approximately one-fifth of them (21%) do not know that they have been infected.

Women and HIV/AIDS:

• In 2006, women made up 25% of the persons living with HIV in the United States. Women also represented 27% of new HIV infections in 2006.
• High-risk heterosexual contact is the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections in women in the US.
• From the beginning of the epidemic through 2005, almost 86,000 women have died of AIDS and AIDS-related complications.
• The largest number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses during recent years was for women aged 15–39.
• Seven of the 10 states with the highest case rates among women are in the South.

Youth and HIV/AIDS:

• In 2006, the CDC estimates that almost 46,000 young people, ages 13-24, were living with HIV in the US. Women comprised 28% of these HIV/AIDS cases among 13-24 year-olds.
• African-American young adults are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for 60% of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 13-24 year olds in 2006.

Please help spread awareness.  put on your red heels, tell someone, tweet, blog, comment on Facebook, or simply share this post.  Knowledge is power!  Visitt some of the other participant's blogs today to see what they are doing.