Strategic Leadership Council

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is directed, planned and organized by a working group of national organizations in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal of this partnership is to to mobilize communities and address specific issues in regards to local epidemics and best practices that are science-based and will influence the course of HIV in Black communities across our country.

Below is the list of those organizations/entities that work hard to strategically plan, direct and oversee National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day along with a brief description about them. You can visit their individual websites by clicking on their name.

Strategic Leadership Council Members:

Alliances for Quality Education (Maryland): is a full service firm dedicated to enhancing the capacity of non-profit and for profit organizations. AQE has an excellent record of providing top-quality services to support economic development, education, health, and technology programs. When it was founded in 1996, AQE focused primarily on assisting colleges and universities. Since then, the firm has expanded to include a broad range of businesses, including large corporations, government agencies, community organizations, national non-profit organizations, and faith-based institutions.

The Balm In Gilead, Inc. is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to improve the health status of people of the African Diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities to address life-threatening diseases, especially HIV/AIDS.

The Balm In Gilead’s pioneering achievements have enabled thousands of churches to become leaders in preventing the transmission of HIV by providing comprehensive educational programs and offering compassionate support to encourage those infected to seek and maintain treatment. The Balm In Gilead spearheads a dynamic response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the faith community.

For 19 years, The Balm In Gilead has mobilized The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, which engages Black churches to become centers for education, compassion and care in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Georgia): is located within the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention and is largely responsible for providing information around the basic science, surveillance, prevention and vaccine research, treatment and funding of HIV prevention in the United States. In addition, this Division oversees the capacity building assistance provided to community based organizations, health departments and community stakeholders involved in HIV prevention. You can learn more about the structure of DHAP by clicking here to view their organization chart.

Healthy Black Communities, Inc. (Georgia): is both a domestic and international non governmental organization whose mission is to provide quality programs and services that foster healthy behavior and lifestyle within the Black community. The organization was founded in 2001.

The organization's programs and initiatives are incorporated into the "Centers" model that houses each program and initiative taken on by the organization. The four centers within the organization are: Center for Black Family Wellness, Center for Black Same Gender Loving Development, Center for International Excellence and the Center for Organization & Technology Development.

Jackson State University – Mississippi Urban Research Center (Mississippi): is an entity of Jackson State University (JSU) and is located in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. Housed in the Jackson Medical Mall, MURC operates as an entity of the JSU Office of Research Development Support and Federal Relations. The Center consists of a projects unit and a Production Center.

Using multidisciplinary approaches and diverse research methods, MURC provides a structure and setting for conducting research, analyzing public policies and managing research data. The Center serves as a clearinghouse for dissemination of research data on pressing urban life issues in the areas of health, crime and violence, alcohol and other drug abuse, urban education and urban policy. MURC also examines and analyzes this data to make projections regarding policies and initiatives which impact urban life. Relevant data is provided to urban planners, policymakers, service providers, educators and community leaders. Additionally, the Center develops and offers behavioral intervention models, instructional programs, forums, conferences and workshops.

My Brother’s Keeper, Inc. (Mississippi): is a 501 (c)(3 ) nonprofit organization designed to enhance the health and well being of African Americans through leadership in public and community health practices, collaborations and partnerships.

The organization is experienced in social science research and education and possesses a wealth of knowledge and a reputation for independent, innovative and timely work. MBK works closely with a diverse range of clients and research partners.

MBK offers expertise in many areas, including: Public Health, Social Policy, Media and Communications, Information Technology, Capacity Building and Action Research. MBK employs staff and consultants with a range of government, community, commercial and international experience. MBK researchers include educators, public health practitioners, statisticians, sociologists, historians and political scientists. MBK staff contribute to scholarly journals, and sit on the boards of community organizations and government committees.

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (DC): represents the nation’s chief state health agency staff who have programmatic responsibility for administering HIV/AIDS healthcare, prevention, education, and supportive service programs funded by state and federal governments. NASTAD is dedicated to reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS infection in the U.S. and its territories, providing comprehensive, compassionate, and high-quality care to all persons living with HIV/AIDS, and ensuring responsible public policies. NASTAD provides national leadership to achieve these goals, and to educate about and advocate for the necessary federal funding to achieve them, as well as to promote communication between state and local health departments and HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs.  NASTAD supports and encourages the use of applied scientific knowledge and input from affected communities to guide the development of effective policies and programs. 

National Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council, Inc. (Florida): is an organization through which Blacks concerned with or involved in the field of alcoholism and other drugs related issues can exchange ideas, offer services, and coordinate as well as facilitate alcoholism and substance abuse programs that operate in the interest of Black Americans.

The mission of the organization is to provide leadership for the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, other drugs of abuse and HIV/AIDS. There are four primary goals the organization engages in activities to further its mission: (1) promote the development of effective treatment and prevention services; (2) insure that Black people have accessible and affordable treatment and prevention services; (3) develop and disseminate culturally appropriate education and training information; and (4) assist in creating a coalition of all Blacks involved in Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health.

The NBAC structure includes state and local chapters that are affiliates of the National organization. Each State and the District of Columbia can establish a chapter after ten or more people join the National organization. Each state chapter, although affiliated with and chartered by the National organization, is a separate legal entity. Local chapters in a state have the option of developing separate legal status or coming under the state's legal authority. State and local chapters develop programs and activities to meet their unique needs, and to carry out the National goals and policies.

National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc. (New York): was founded in 1987 and the mission of the organization is to inform, coordinate and organize the volunteer efforts of indigenous Black leadership including clergy, elected officials, medical practitioners, businessmen and women, social policy experts and the media to meet the challenge of fighting AIDS in their local communities.

BLCA conducts policy, research and advocacy on HIV and AIDS to ensure effective participation of Black leadership in all policy and resource allocation divisions at the national, state and local levels of communities of African descent nationwide. BLCA is the oldest and largest non-profit organization of its kind in the United States.