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Dr. Beny J. Primm has been a catalyst for health awareness since the late `60s. After witnessing an influx of minority drug addicts in the New York area, Primm decided to create the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation in 1969. The nonprofit organization has since improved the lives of thousands of inner-city drug addicts and now addresses the needs of HIV/AIDS patients. Dr. Primm, who was appointed to the Commission on AIDS by former President Ronald Regan, works to curb the rise of HIV infections in the black community.

“I began working with HIV patients in 1983,” Dr. Primm says. “During that time, we had several patients whose lymph nodes were swollen. We didn’t have an idea what was causing this, but we later found out that it was HIV.” Since the outbreak of HIV/AIDS, the number of blacks diagnosed with the disease has increased each year. Dr. Primm is appalled by the devastating numbers and believes that drastic measures must be taken. “The CDC has called for routine testing for people from the ages of 13 to 64, but people who are 64 and older should be tested, too,” he says. “We should target anyone who is sexually active. It is also important for us to drive home the message of condom use and sexual responsibility.”

Although new HIV/AIDS drugs have allowed those with the disease to live less afflicted lives, Primm believes that efforts to stop the disease must continue. “There are exciting new treatments for those who have HIV,” he says. “But we can’t treat our way out of this disease, we’re going to have to increase prevention efforts.” – amir shaw


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