Mission
The global pandemic of HIV infection and AIDS continues to spread and has already claimed more than 20 million lives. The problem has come to affect primarily people of color living in resource-poor nations. In the United States, African Americans represent 13% of the population but account for more than 50% of diagnosed AIDS cases. African American women account for more than two thirds of AIDS cases in women in the United States. The prevalence of AIDS among African Americans is rising at an alarming rate, and in the nation’s capital a recent study found that 3 to 5% of adult African Americans are HIV-positive. Some studies indicate that after infection, in the absence of treatment, African Americans progress more rapidly to AIDS than other racial groups and may suffer clinical problems, like HIV-associated nephropathy, not typically seen in other racial groups. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in African Americans is a true crisis that requires immediate and intense action.
The biological complexity of HIV and AIDS is matched by the political and cultural complexity of society’s response to the virus. The multidimensional nature of the HIV/AIDS problem in the African American community means that the solution will require the coordinated efforts of individuals from many disciplines; health care providers, basic and clinical researchers, public health officials, journalists, faith leaders, politicians, social workers, community leaders and educators. Solving the problem of AIDS in the African American community will require not only the mobilization of human resources but also substantial financial resources as well for research, education, capacity building, counseling, and treatment.
The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR) at Meharry Medical College’s School of Medicine is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NCRR grant number U54 RR019192). The principal charge given to the Center is to conduct research and other scholarly activities designed to identify, understand, and eliminate factors responsible for the profoundly disproportionate burden of AIDS and HIV infection among minority populations in the United States.
Our obligation is the compassionate elimination of HIV in our community and world. Through combining research with community partnerships, the Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research will dramatically reduce the burden of AIDS in the local minority community. Discoveries made and models developed by the Center will have permanent national and global impact.
Recognizing the need for a multi-discipline approach to both the problem and the research needed to eliminate it, the CAHDR has identified three major areas of focus:
Education 
Research
Patient Care
Links
The Center for AIDS Health Disparities
