National Campaign Aims to Encourage Condom Use Amongst African American Teens

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that more than 1 million adults and adolescents were living with HIV infection in the United States at the end of 2006, the most recent year for which national prevalence estimates are available. {snip}

Blacks/African Americans are the racial/ethnic group most affected by HIV. In 2009, Blacks/African Americans comprised 14% of the US population, but account for 44% of all new HIV infections. Hispanics/Latinos represent 13% of the population, but account for an estimated 17% of new infections. African American and Hispanics/Latinos communities continue to experience higher rates of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) compared to other racial/ethnic communities in the US. {snip}

The CDC states for every HIV infection that is prevented, an estimated $355,000 is saved in the cost of providing lifetime HIV treatment — significant cost-savings for the U.S. federal government that spent an estimated $12.3 billion on HIV care and treatment in 2009, and for the U.S. health care system as a whole.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are one of the most critical health challenges facing the nation today. CDC estimates there are 19 million new infections every year in the United States at a cost of $17 billion to the U.S health care system each year. {snip}

Kenny Condom’s HIV/AIDS/STDs grass-roots, safer-sex prevention and awareness campaign has been centered around Kenny’s unique “cool” image, i.e. hands on hips and wearing sun glasses, primarily in the Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD market. The national campaign launch of the “urban” version of Kenny Condom is being announced today in an effort to get the attention of the adolescent population in the US concerning the alarming facts from the CDC.

The website (www.kenny-condom.com) includes a video using humor to illustrate sex without Kenny could lead to a dead end. The video is the work of students at Bowie State University. In addition a mobile app has been released that has a very noble mission in mind — it is designed to help educate and inform it’s users on preventive and awareness information including resources for getting tested, proper condom usage, and statistical data. {snip}

{snip}

The Kenny Condom character and national campaign is the brainchild of Terence Greene, the 2010 award-winning producer of “Adjust Your Color, The Truth of Petey Greene”. {snip}

The “urban” illustration of Kenney Condom (pictured below) was created by graffiti writer and international muralist Daniel “Pose 2” Hopkins. {snip}