Larry Ault recently wrote an article describing the especially harsh effect HIV/AIDS has on blacks in the United States:
The National Center for Health Statistics 2006 report says HIV/AIDS is one of the top 10 causes of death for African-Americans.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 25-34 in the United States. Black youth ages 13-19 account for 73 percent of the young people infected with HIV/AIDS, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported.
In 2006, it was estimated 54 percent of new HIV cases nationwide were African-Americans who are more likely to test later than other races according to Kaiser Foundation reports and are more likely to receive a diagnosis of AIDS from the initial positive test.
This global killer hurts all of us, but it especially harms the black community. Additionally, the HIV/AIDS epidemic spreads faster and harsher through poor communities in which the people cannot afford testing and treatment. Although we have no cure, for the most part we can prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by abstaining from unprotected sex, unless in a monogamous relationship where both participations have passed the HIV/AIDS test.
Sadly, in the United States, approximately 25% of people infected with AIDS do not even know.
What do you think?