HIV AIDS epidemic in our community

It is the end of 2008 and we are still looking for a cure for AIDS and our African American communities are in despair. HIV/AIDS are in an all time high and it still doesn’t seem to be a topic of conversation among us.

African Americans are disproportionately affected compared with members of other races and ethnicities, but still we are in denial and think that it is not a true consensus.

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) which holds the most complete study on AIDS and other diseases, concluded that the following factors are the main cause of the spread of HIV/AIDS in our community.

Unprotected sex – Substance abuse – Lack of awareness – STD’s – Homophobia – Denial of sexual behaviors among men – Socioeconomic issues.

HIV/AIDS in 2005

• According to the 2000 census, blacks make up approximately 13% of the US population. However, in 2005, blacks accounted for 18,121 (49%) of the estimated 37,331 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.
• Of all black men living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact.
• Of all black women living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was high-risk heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
• Of the estimated 141 infants prenatally infected with HIV, 91 (65%) were black (CDC, HIV/AIDS Reporting System, unpublished data, December 2006).
• Of the estimated 18,849 people under the age of 25 whose diagnosis of HIV/AIDS was made during 2001-2004 in the 33 states with HIV reporting, 11,554 (61%) were black.

 

AIDS in 2005

• Blacks accounted for 20,187 (50%) of the estimated 40,608 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black adults and adolescents was 10 times the rate for whites and nearly 3 times the rate for Hispanics. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black women was nearly 23 times the rate for white women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for black men was 8 times the rate for white men.
• The 185,988 blacks living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for 44% of the 421,873 people in those areas living with AIDS.
• Of the 68 US children (younger than 13 years of age) who had a new AIDS diagnosis, 46 were black.
• Since the beginning of the epidemic, blacks have accounted for 397,548 (42%) of the estimated 952,629 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• From the beginning of the epidemic through December 2005, an estimated 211,559 blacks with AIDS died.
• Of persons whose diagnosis of AIDS had been made during 1997-2004, a smaller proportion of blacks (66%) were alive after 9 years compared with American Indians and Alaska Natives (67%), Hispanics (74%), whites (75%), and Asians and Pacific Islanders (81%).

It is imperative that we educate our young and owned up to our responsibilities. AIDS is real and it’s destroying our lives and our communities. It is no longer or has never been someone else’s disease. We must all take necessary steps to prevent this disaster to affect the next generation.