below, from HHS....

Secretary Sebelius to Address U.S. Conference on AIDS in Chicago

Thousands of Activists, Care Providers and People Living with AIDS will Discuss State of the Epidemic in America

Chicago, IL - Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will give the keynote address at opening plenary of the 15th annual U.S. Conference on AIDS (USCA) in Chicago, the largest annual AIDS-related gathering in the country. The opening plenary will begin at 8:00am, and the Secretary will begin her speech at approximately 9:15am.

Aimed at increasing the strength and diversity of the community response to HIV/AIDS, USCA brings together thousands of caseworkers, care givers, advocates and people living with AIDS to exchange the latest information and learn cutting-edge tools to address the challenges posed by this epidemic. Other federal officials that will address the conference include White House Office of National AIDS Policy Director Jeff Crowley on Thursday, November 10 and Dr. Mary Wakefield from the Health Resources and Services Administration on Sunday, November 13.


WHAT: United States Conference on AIDS

WHERE: Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers
Sheraton Chicago Ballroom
301 East North Water Street

WHEN: November 10, 2011

WHO: National Minority AIDS Council


The theme of this year's USCA is "Make Change Real: Unite. Speak. Act." and the target population is gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates of new HIV infections highlight the continued and persistent impact this epidemic has had on gay men, especially gay men of color. The three populations with the highest rates of infection are White, African American and Latino gay men respectively. Even more troubling, infections among young black gay men rose an alarming 48 percent from 2006 to 2009.

**A media room will be available to press who wish to attend. To register, please visit NMAC's media registration page at http://www.nmac.org/index/press-social-media-registration or contact Kyle Murphy at kmurphy@nmac.org. On site registration will also be available in the Media Room located in the conference center.**

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