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State health officials continue to
grapple with a significant HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Florida.
Around one in every 100 residents of
Broward County are HIV-infected, as are one of every 170 people living in Palm
Beach County. In Broward, an estimated one in 44 black men have HIV.
“In South Florida we have an
epidemic,” Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, told
the state’s members of Congress during the 19th International AIDS Conference.
“We have an epidemic among men in the gay community. We have an epidemic in the
African-American community. The numbers are astronomical.”
Some progress is being made,
however. New data from the Florida Department of Health show a 17 percent
decline in new AIDS cases for the first half of 2012 compared to the same
period last year - 1,161 vs. 1,401. And annually, about 400,000 residents are
tested for HIV, thanks to statewide initiatives.
Advocates are focusing their efforts
on closing the gap between HIV diagnosis and treatment, with the uninsured or
those who lack access to care especially affected. Activists are calling on
Gov. Rick Scott and state legislators to drop their resistance to the
Affordable Care Act and agree to expand Medicaid coverage.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
