Young AA Women Enlighten Girls About HIV/AIDS

Four young women in Washington D.C. have taken it upon themselves to educate ‘sistas’ about HIV/AIDS, the leading cause of death among African American women, aged 25-34 in the capital city. Tennille Daniels, Janesia Simmons, Erica Jeffreys and Maaden Eshete call themselves Divas, Making People Healthier (Divas, MPH) and they’re on a mission to make sure Black girls in their community do not become a statistic. The group recently hosted it’s first annual “SOS–Saving Our Sisters from HIV/AIDS” health summit, where teenage girls and women talked openly about the epidemic and how to make positive lifestyle choices. The half-day summit included workshops on “HIV/AIDS 101,” and learning negotiation and assertiveness skills. It ended with a Town Hall-style meeting on the impact of HIV/AIDS.  “[The District’s] rise in HIV/AIDS cases among women and girls is [both] alarming and heartbreaking especially since the disease is preventable,” Daniels told the Washington Informer.  Read More:

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