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The South sees half the nation’s new
HIV infections, despite having only slightly more than a third of the US
population. African Americans account for half of men, and almost
three-quarters of women, newly diagnosed with HIV in the South.
Causes for the disparity include
stigma, lack of HIV testing, limited education about sex and HIV, widespread
poverty, less access to health care, and prejudice against homosexuals. Many
people in the Deep South are not getting tested, and “HIV is exploding in these
states,” said Carolyn McAllaster, director of the Southern AIDS Strategy
Initiative.
“We are seeing a lot of late
testers,” said DeAnn Gruber, director of Louisiana’s HIV/AIDS program. Nearly
25 percent of people newly diagnosed with HIV in Louisiana already have AIDS.
“There are a lot of undiagnosed
people out there,” said Laurie Dill, medical director of Medical AIDS Outreach
of Alabama (MAO), southern Alabama’s largest HIV clinic. Over three-quarters of
MAO patients live below the poverty line - $23,050 for a family of four. Just
10 percent have private insurance, and 40 percent have no insurance.
“There are many, many people in this
state who have been diagnosed, but are not in care,” said Harold Henderson,
director of the HIV clinic at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in
Jackson.
Those who earn less than $10,000
annually are three times more likely to have HIV than those making over
$50,000, according to CDC.
To improve access to HIV
specialists, MAO in January launched a telemedicine program linking doctors in
Montgomery to patients in Selma, 50 miles away. Next year, MAO and two other
clinics will provide that linkage at six sites covering two-thirds of Alabama
counties. The three-year, $2.4 million pilot is being funded by MAO, the
federal government, and AIDS United.
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!
