Sistas Organizing to Survive (SOS) is a grassroots mobilization of black women in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In Florida, one in 68 non-Hispanic black women are known to be living with HIV/AIDS. This compares with approximately one in 1,281 non-Hispanic white women, and one in 472 Hispanic women. For over 15 years, HIV/AIDS has been the leading cause of death among black women aged 25-44 years in Florida.

The Sistas Organizing to Survive movement aims to educate black women about the impact of HIV/AIDS and to develop an action plan that prevents the further spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Florida's black communities. Recently, the Florida Department of Health hosted the first SOS: Sistas Organizing to Survive conference in Orlando, FL. Almost 600 consumers, health providers, and community leaders participated in the event. Over 300 women actively pledged to engage in a statewide education network that encourages black women to become participatory in their own health.

Objectives of the SOS conference:

• Educate black women about HIV/AIDS and how other STDs, hepatitis and substance abuse increase their risk
• Empower black women to take charge of and control of their sexual health
• Connect black women to HIV/AIDS resources
• Offer tools to enable black women to educate others where they live, work, play and worship
• Encourage black women to take a pledge to get tested for HIV and to educate others where they live, work, play, and worship

Our goal is to test 100,000 black women each year by 2010.