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HIV/AIDS among African Americans and Less Privileged

African Americans account for a small percentage of the American population yet

encounter the highest-level f HIV/AIDS prevalence in the region. African American refers to the

African American or black Americans living in the USA. Another critical factor is that gay and

bisexual men account for most of the HIV diagnosis in the USA with history indicating that most

of the people who died of HIV/AIDs were African Americans especially those from poor

backgrounds (CDC). Similarly, the most hit section of the African American community were

black women, youth and bisexual men with major challenge resulting from poverty, lack of

access to health care, lack of awareness and increased number of sexually transmitted infections.

Statistics indicate that of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, half of them

are black (CDC). The rate of new HIV diagnosis in America is high among the black adults as

compared to white and Latinos with women leading in the rate. Furthermore, the rates of

HIV/AIDS deaths lead among blacks than any other community in the USA. The transmission of

HIV among African Americans attributes to male-male sexual contact followed by heterosexual

contact.

Geographical Significance

The impact of HIV among the African Americans in the USA takes an uneven

distribution throughout the country. For instance, the distribution based on states starts with New

York leading with approximately 51000 followed by Florida with above 40000 then Georgia,
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Texas, Maryland and California (CDC). The least affected state is Pennsylvania with 16000

African Americans diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Regionally, the same trend occurs with the

distribution varying from northeast of the country to the west. For instance, the south region

leads in the number of African American diagnosed with AIDS with about 54% followed by

Midwest with 50% then northeast with 39% and finally west with 19% (CDC). Overall statistics

show that by the end of 2015, approximately 44% of people diagnosed with HIV were African

Americans indicating the highest prevalence by race.

Factor Influencing HIV/AIDS Prevalence among African Americans

One of the major factor affecting health and well-being of African Americans is the

increased prevalence of HIV as the community faces the highest risk of exposure as compared to

other ethnic groups. Another contributing factor is the increased prevalence of sexually

transmitted diseases among the blacks than other racial groups contributing to higher HIV

incidence (CDC). Stigma is also among the contributing factors as most African Americans fear

disclosing risk behaviour or their sexual orientation limiting their access to test and treatment

services. Finally, socioeconomic factors account for the greatest influence on the prevalence of

HIV/AIDS among African Americans. For instance, factors such as poverty have increased

chances of conducting the virus among the African American community.

Conclusion

HIV/AIDS is high among the African American community attributing to factors such as

lack of awareness and socioeconomic factors like poverty. The geographical distribution also

indicates that the south region being the most affected while New York leads by state. Therefore,

it is essential for the country to give enough attention to the HIV/AIDS prevalence among the
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blacks, find an appropriate solution such as increasing awareness, and ensure equal distribution

of healthcare resources to help manage HIV/AIDS within the community.

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Work cited

CDC. "Geographic Distribution | Statistics Overview | Statistics Centre | HIV/AIDS |

CDC." Cdc.gov. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Jan. 2018.