The American Red Cross of the Black Belt will be holding African-American HIV/AIDS Instructor training courses beginning Thursday for anyone interested in helping to educate people about the disease.

Those who complete the four-day course would receive certification in both the Basic HIV program and the African-American HIV program, said Red Cross HIV/AIDS instructor Carrie Grider.

Grider said the courses give participants a greater knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS so they can then educate others in their community.

“Once they get certified, our instructors could teach to church groups, youth groups and do special programs for community groups,” Grider said.

Grider said the Red Cross is encouraging teachers, nurses and aid service workers to register for the course.

“We are also making an appeal to the religious community to get involved,” Grider said. “We are trying to find as many ways as possible to get information about AIDS and HIV to the community.”

The number of AIDS/HIV cases in the state and Dallas County is on the rise, according to the Center for Disease Control. There were 91 cases of AIDS and 64 cases of HIV in Dallas County on Dec. 31, 2004, the latest statistics available from the CDC.

“AIDS and HIV are not going anywhere,” Grider said. “In fact, numbers are rising.”

Grider said it’s not easy for some people to talk about AIDS/HIV because of the sensitive nature of the topic, but it is one of the few ways to help prevent the disease from spreading.

Those interested in becoming a certified African-American HIV/AIDS Instructor must fulfill prerequisite courses: Fundamentals of Instructor Training and HIV Starter facts.

These courses will take place on Jan. 30 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The HIV Education Prevention Instructor course will take place Jan. 25-28 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For course fee information and class locations and information about the course, contact Grider at 872-6984.