According to the NEJM, more than 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C., are HIV-infected, which is a greater percentage than what’s reported in the African countries of Ethiopia, Nigeria or Rwanda.
It goes on to say that in New York City, the following subgroups are also HIV-infected: “1 in 40 blacks, 1 in 10 men [of all races] who have sex with men, and 1 in 8 injection-drug users.”
The numbers get more grim as it relates to African Americans, the group that already has a percentage of HIV and AIDS far beyond the proportion to their small population in the country. For example, 1 in 14 black men in the nation’s capital have HIV.
Newsweek, which first reported the magazine‘s findings, said “Black and Hispanic women are at increased risk due to the instability of their sexual relationships — which is attributed to the high rate of incarceration of men in their networks — and their vulnerable or dependent economic situation, which may cause them to be fearful of suggesting safer-sex options to their companions,“ the publication states. “Black men who have sex with men are at high risk because of the likelihood of their choosing to engage in sexual activity with someone who is racially similar, and because of the prevalence of HIV within their sexual networks.”
The New England Journal of Medicine says black and Hispanic women make up more than 25 percent of all new HIV contraction cases in the United States today. “Lower-income black Americans with poor education and unstable housing are disproportionately affected,“ and worse, “More than 20 percent of the estimated 1 million HIV-positive Americans are unaware of their status.”
These latest findings call into question whether America is really committed to eradicating HIV and AIDS in America. –terry shropshire
