Chris Norwood
Chris Norwood is an author and a healthcare advocate who founded Health People, the largest peer health education and disease prevention organization in the United States. Health People is located in the South Bronx, New York, an area that is disproportionately and negatively impacted by many health problems such as HIV/AIDS and asthma. The organization was formed in 1990 as a women's AIDS prevention program and a teen HIV program. Health officials from across the United States and from five continents have traveled to the Health People offices for trainings on how to create similar types of empowerment programs in their own communities.
In addition to advocating for treatment and prevention, Chris also advocates for children who are orphaned as a result of losing their parents to AIDS. She wrote a piece for the New York Times discussing the harsh impact that living in an atmosphere of AIDS has on children and citing the fact that there are no services in place to help these children.
In 2000, Chris was honored during the New York State observance of World AIDS Day after being nominated by the Ryan White CARE Network. Chris was also nominated as one of one thousand women worldwide to receive the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts as an advocate for those affected HIV/AIDS.
Information on HIV/AIDS in the United States of America, end of 2003
Adult* HIV prevalence rate:
0.6%
Adults living with HIV: 940,000
Adults and children living with HIV: 950,000
Women Living with HIV: 240,000
AIDS deaths (adults and children): 14,000
*Adult statistics for persons 15-49 years old
**statistics from deaths that occurred in 2003
Source: UNAIDS
Related Websites
The official website for the New York based health organization, Health People.
The official website announcing the one thousand women nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.
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