Minority Health

NIAID has long recognized that racial and ethnic differences affect susceptibility to infection and disease. For example, African Americans account for about 13 percent of the U.S. population, yet represent almost half of new AIDS diagnoses. Native Americans experience higher rates of meningitis and invasive bacterial disease from Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) than do other groups. Year after year, asthma has a disproportionate affect on inner-city populations, particularly among African-American and Hispanic/Latino children.

NIAID Research Aims to Reduce Health Disparities NIAID is committed to helping reduce gaps in health among minorities. Highlights NIAID'S Role in Minority Health New Minority Health Information on HIV/AIDS, Allergies, and Athma in English and Spanish

NIAID is committed to research that helps reduce these and other health disparities. Its efforts have led to the development of better drugs for HIV/AIDS, vaccines that have almost eliminated Hib-related disease, and educational programs and other interventions to improve asthma control among inner-city children.

NIAID also works to attract minorities to careers in biomedical research through programs such as Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities, which provides training in NIAID labs for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students from underrepresented groups, and Research Centers in Minority Institutions, which is partly funded by NIAID and aims to enhance research infrastructure at minority colleges and universities that offer doctorates in health sciences.

Related Links

• Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities Program
• Minority Health Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Office of Minority Health at the Health and Human Services
• Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program

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