The United States Conference of Mayors Observes World AIDS Day

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Conference of Mayors and mayors all across the nation join in recognizing December 1, as World AIDS Day. America's mayors support every effort to raise awareness and mobilize action to combat the devastating and growing impact of HIV/AIDS.

Since the pandemic was first identified 27 years ago, an overwhelming 25 million people worldwide have died from AIDS and 33 million are now infected with the deadly HIV virus that causes AIDS.

"Mayors stand committed behind this year's leadership theme on World AIDS Day, and as local leaders on the front lines of American cities, we must continue to demonstrate every action to fight this deadly disease that's affecting our human population," said Conference President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer. "But we can't act alone. The federal and state government along with our business and community partners must work together to ensure that there is a multi-faceted approach to increasing education and prevention efforts and creating broader access to care and treatment globally."

Through a 24-year partnership with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, the Conference has distributed approximately $23 million in grants to community based organizations and local health departments to support local prevention and education efforts, with a focus on high-risk communities including minority women and gay and bisexual men of color.

For more information of Conference efforts including grants programs and information on how to apply, please visit: www.usmayors.org.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.

Contact: Elena Temple (202) 861-6719

              etemple@umayors.org