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While AIDS researchers speak
optimistically of a cure and a vaccine, health workers and community
organizations say those most at-risk for HIV are not getting the prevention
information and treatment currently available.
“The science of HIV and treatment is
coming along, and everyone is excited. We forget there’s a real-life
implementation that has to occur,” said Yvette Calderon, adult urgent-care
director at New York’s Jacobi Medical Center.
The disease that primarily affected
white gay men in its early years has taken hold in minority populations,
especially gay and bisexual black and Latino men and heterosexual black women.
Kaiser Family Foundation data show blacks are eight times more likely to
contract HIV than whites, while Latinos have an infection rate three times that
of whites. And though HIV remains an urban problem, increasingly it is
impacting rural communities, particularly in the Deep South.
The groups most likely to be
infected are the least likely to get treatment or have health insurance,
advocates say. They also are the most likely to die of AIDS-related
complications.
“No one should have to die of HIV
anymore,” said Janet Weinberg, COO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York.
“But we’re not going to be able to get to that point in silence.” Cultural
barriers prevent communities from having open discussions about sex and
sexuality, especially when young people are concerned.
Shavon Arline-Bradley, director of
health programs for the NAACP, said her organization spent three years creating
an AIDS manual for churches. The goal was not to change what pastors preach
about homosexuality or extra-marital sex, but to help frame HIV/AIDS as a
social justice issue, she said.
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!
