AIDs Is Our Problem and We’d Better Deal With It!

Published July 15, 2009 at 1:48 p.m.

Snapshot of the Epidemic

• Although Black Americans represent only 12% of the U.S.

population, they account for half of AIDS cases diagnosed in

2005. Blacks also account for a disproportionate share of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in states/areas with confidential name-based HIV reporting.

• The AIDS case rate per 100,000 among Black adults/adolescents

was 10 times that of whites in 2005. The AIDS case rate for Black men (95.1) was the highest of any group, followed by Black women (45.5). By comparison, the rate among white men was 12.1

• HIV-related deaths and HIV death rates are highest among

Blacks. Blacks accounted for 55% of deaths due to HIV in

2003 and their survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower

on average than it is for other racial/ethnic groups.

In 2004, Black men had the highest HIV death rate per 100,000 men aged 25–44 at 39.9; it was 5.5 for white men. The HIV death rate among Black women aged 25–44 was 23.1 compared to 1.3 for white women.

• HIV was the 4th leading cause of death for Black men and 3rd for Black women, aged 25-44, in 2004, ranking higher than for their respective counterparts in any other racial/ethnic group.

 

Key Trends and Current Cases

• Blacks account for a growing share of AIDS diagnoses over time,

rising from 25% of cases diagnosed in 1985 to 50% in 2005.

 

• A recent analysis of 1999–2002 data from a national household

survey found that more than 2% of Blacks in the U.S. (among

those aged 18–49) were HIV positive, higher than other groups.

 

• The number of Black Americans living with AIDS increased by

31% between 2001 and 2005, compared to a 20% increase among whites.

 

• The number of deaths among both Blacks and whites with AIDS

declined between 2001 and 2005, by 6% and 4%, respectively,

although they were highest among Blacks. Deaths among other

racial/ethnic groups remained stable.

 

Women and Young People

 

• Black women account for the majority of new AIDS cases

among women (66% in 2005); white and Latina women each

account for 16% of new AIDS cases.

 

• Black women represented more than a third (35%) of AIDS cases

diagnosed among Blacks (Black men and women combined) in

2005; by comparison, white women represented 15% of AIDS

cases diagnosed among whites.

 

• Although Black teens (aged 13–19) represent only 16% of U.S.

teenagers, they accounted for 69% of new AIDS cases reported

among teens in 2005. A similar impact can be seen among

Black children.

 

Transmission

 

• HIV transmission patterns among Black men vary from those of

white men. Although both groups are most likely to have been

infected through sex with other men, white men are much more

likely to have been infected this way. Heterosexual transmission

and injection drug use account for a greater share of infections

among Black men than white men.

These statistics, taken from various surveys conducted from 1999 through 2005, provide a stark reality of the state of health for African Americans.

Studies clearly show that while this period was not nearly the start of the increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS in this country, for Black people a scary rise in the incidence was occurring and now has ballooned to epidemic proportions.

What is even more frightening and shocking is that despite the crush of media focusing on the crisis and information being disseminated, Americans’ sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS has fallen dramatically, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet reprinted by permission from the Kaiser Family Foundation