Please join me for a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) Twitter chat/”town hall meeting” on Friday, February 7, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Twitter town hall is co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the NBHAAD Strategic Leadership CommitteeExit Disclaimer and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)Exit Disclaimer. The theme is, “How do we end the HIV epidemic in Black America?” and it promises to be an interesting and lively discussion about this very important topic!

I will serve as a co-host of the chat, using my Twitter handle @DrDeanCDCExit Disclaimer, along with Dr. Patrick Sullivan (Twitter: @AIDSVuExit Disclaimer), Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and Principal Researcher for AIDSVu, a compilation of interactive online maps that visualize the domestic HIV epidemic presented in partnership by Emory University and Gilead Sciences, Inc. Dr. Sullivan and I are pleased to bring together leaders from the public health sector, as well as from faith and business communities, to discuss the role that we all can play in increasing HIV testing, prevention, treatment, and care for African Americans at risk for and living with HIV.

The online event will be opened by CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden (Twitter:@DrFriedenCDCExit Disclaimer). We also will be joined by the staff of Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and the Director of the Office of Minority Health (Twitter: @MinorityHealthExit Disclaimer), who will share information about how the Affordable Care Act impacts people at risk for and living with HIV; Dr. Jonathan Mermin (Twitter: @DrMerminCDCExit Disclaimer), Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention), will provide information on the President’s HIV Care Continuum Initiative.

To join the NBHAAD Twitter town hall, simply go to Twitter at the designated time and follow hashtag #NBHAADchatExit Disclaimer. I look forward to reading your thoughtful comments and questions as together we observe National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Editor’s Note: If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still follow this important conversation without establishing an account. Just search the designated chat hashtag at this link: https://twitter.com/searchExit Disclaimer.