Reducing the Burden of HIV Among African American Women

African American women continue to be hit hard by the HIV epidemic in the United States.  They are diagnosed with HIV at disproportionately high rates relative to white and Hispanic/Latina women - 15 times that of white women and almost 5 times that of Latino women.

New HIV Diagnoses Among Women in the US and Dependent Areas, 2017 by Transmission Category and Race/Ethnicity   (CDC)

        

                     

                  

In 2016, they accounted for 6 in 10 new diagnoses among women, despite an overall 25 percent decline in new HIV infections among African American women compared to a 21 percent decline among all women over the period of 2010–2016.   In addition, according to the CDC, HIV/AIDS-related illness accounts for 2.5% of deaths among African American women aged 20-24 and 3.4% of deaths for those aged 25-34 years.  

Some of the reasons for this disparity in HIV include higher poverty rates, high rates of intimate partner violence and certain sexually transmitted infections, smaller sexual networks, lack of awareness about HIV status, stigma, lack of education about prevention (such as PrEP) and treatment, and differential access to health services. 

So, what is being done to close the gap?

                                                                                                         

One initiative, “Act Against AIDS (AAA)”, launched by the CDC and the White House in 2009, provides women with effective and culturally appropriate messages to raise awareness about HIV prevention and treatment.  It uses mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet) to deliver HIV prevention messages to a variety of consumer and health care provider audiences and supports “Partnering and Communicating Together to Act Against AIDS (PACT)”, a network of national-level organizations that focus on African Americans and other minority groups at increased risk.  

   

Every step that raises awareness and encourages women to get tested, helps to reduce stigma, increases support for people living with HIV, and ultimately will help stop its spread.

Judith Wolf, MD    Associate Director, WHEP