-- AHF's 10th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival on March 22nd will benefit South Florida HIV/AIDS organizations --

(BLACK PR WIRE) -- FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AIDS Healthcare Foundation:

What: 10th Annual Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival

When: SUNDAY, March 22nd 8 am – 3:30 pm

Where: Fort Lauderdale’s South Beach Park (across the street from Bahia Mar Hotel)

Who: Pioneer female rap group Salt-N-Pepa

B-Roll:
â - Thousands of participating Walkers with Florida AIDS Walk gear walking 5K;
â - Live concert by groundbreaking female rap duo Salt-N-Pepa following walk

CONTACTS: Mark Martin, +1.954.318.4337 or mobile 954.383.8007
mark.martin@aidshealth.org

Christopher Johnson, +1.323.960.4846 or mobile 310.880.9913
christopher.johnson@aidshealth.org

The 10th Annual Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival benefitting South Florida HIV/AIDS service providers will be held on Sunday, March 22nd on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The annual 5K fundraising walk and concert is hosted by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest AIDS organization, and presented by AHF Pharmacy, where 96 cents of every dollar earned supports domestic and global HIV/AIDS care.

According to the Centers for the Disease Control (CDC), Florida ranked first nationally in the number of newly diagnosed HIV infections in 2013, with Miami-Dade and Broward counties reporting the highest number of HIV cases in 2014, respectively. The CDC estimates that 110,000 people are currently living with HIV/AIDS in Florida.

The 5K procession begins and ends at Fort Lauderdale’s South Beach Park and will be followed by a live concert headlined by Grammy award-winning female rap group Salt-N-Pepa. The walk is sponsored primarily by AHF Pharmacy, a national chain of full-service pharmacies whose proceeds fund AHF’s work providing HIV/AIDS treatment, testing, and advocacy in 36 countries around the world.

“While each Florida AIDS Walk is spectacular in its own way, we’re truly humbled to celebrate this milestone and express our sincere thanks for the local community’s support over the past ten years to keep attention and resources directed towards people living with HIV/AIDS in South Florida,” said Mark Martin, AHF’s Regional Director of Community Relations and Development in Florida, who plans the event each year. “What better finale to our tenth anniversary walk than Salt-N-Pepa performing on our main stage? In the same way the group used their platform to raise awareness and visibility with the groundbreaking ’Let’s Talk About Sex/AIDS’ in the early ’90s, the ladies are still contributing their talents to the continued fight against HIV/AIDS—and making us dance at the same time!”

Local nonprofits benefitting from the funds raised through walk registrations include Broward House, SAVE, SunServe, Latinos Salud, Mount Olive Development Corporation, the Poverello Center, The Pride Center at Equality Park, and AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Learn more about the 2015 Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival at www.FloridaAIDSWalk.org.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to nearly 367,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150320005582/en/

Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation