Health Issue of the Month

HIV/AIDS and African Americans

When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, we see that African Americans have:

More illness

Shorter survivor times

More Deaths

In 2004, about half (50%) of the people with HIV or AIDS were African American (according to information from 35 areas)

Even when we look at AIDS by sex, African Americans account for about half of all AIDS cases within each sex category. According to information from 33 states, during 2001–2004,

Among women, more than half (68%) of the new cases of HIV and AIDS were in African Americans

Among men, just under half (44%) of the new cases of HIV and AIDS were in African Americans

In 2004, there were estimated to be more AIDS diagnoses for African Americans than for any other racial or ethnic group.

The reality is similar for children: AIDS affects African American children the most. In 2004, new AIDS diagnoses for African American children (younger than 13) were

4x higher than for white children

4x higher than for Hispanic children

For African American men, the most common ways of getting HIV are (in order)

1. Having unprotected sex with another man who has HIV

2. Having unprotected sex with a woman who has HIV

3. Sharing injection drug works (like needles or syringes) with someone who has HIV

For African American women, the most common ways of getting HIV are (in order)

1. Having unprotected sex with a man who has HIV

2. Sharing injection drug works (like needles or syringes) with someone who has HIV

African Americans at higher risk for HIV are those with other STDs (which affect more African Americans than any other racial or ethnic group) and those who live in poverty (which is about one quarter [25%] of all African Americans)