Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement to commemorate World AIDS Day 2014:

“Today, there are more than thirty-five million people around the world who are living with HIV/AIDS, including 1.2 million in the United States. Almost one in seven Americans are not aware of their HIV/AIDS status. It grieves me that the community I represent in Brooklyn has been disproportionately afflicted by this epidemic – as of  June 30, 2013, about 29,000 Brooklyn residents were living with HIV/AIDS. In many instances, the illness was not diagnosed until years after infection. Yet an estimated forty percent of adults in Brooklyn have not been tested for HIV. We must continue our efforts on initiatives to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS and to assist those individuals who are afflicted. For example, we must support such programs as SUNY Downstate’s HIV Center for Women and Children, which provides HIV/AIDS clinical support, mental health assistance,  psychosocial support, educational outreach, research – and, critically, a testing program that will continue the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn. As we commemorate World AIDS Day 2014 and remember the millions of people we have lost to the epidemic, let us renew our commitment to eradicating the disease in our time.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.