During his World AIDS Day address, President Barack Obama made sure to mention that HIV and AIDS continue to disproportionately affect black and Latino communities—something we’ve made sure to mention for a while now. He also mentioned the boatloads of cash he’s giving to HIV treatment centers that also serve those communities. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
He’s committing an additional $15 million for the Ryan White Program that supports care provided by HIV medical clinics across the country and an extra $35 million for state AIDS-drug assistance programs that help reduce the expensive cost of life-saving drugs to those thousands of HIV-positive people without medical insurance.
Reducing the viral load of currently infected people and educating them about transmission will ultimately play into Madame Secretary Hilary Clinton’s plan to reduce the number of new infections to zero.
The Chicago Black Men’s caucus has already come up with several causes for the high HIV rates among communities of color. But the real question: what else are we gonna do about it?
How about we take this to the next level?
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christopher di spirito
I don’t see how $50 million is going to do much.
George W. Bush, for all his faults, pledged (and got) $50 billion for HIV drug treatment and research. While much of the $50 billion was earmarked for a dozen poor African nations, a sizable chunk was earmarked for the USA. Certainly more than Obama’s $50 million.
JayKay
IDK, probably blame white people for it somehow and keep on telling people to just use a condom with their random, anonymous, back room hook-ups instead of telling them to keep it in their pants outside of a committed relationship with someone who you know isn’t infected…
Just a guess.
ewe
It doesn’t make it any better when a black man perpetuates racism. It certainly doesn’t help people who are ill. Gee i didn’t know all the people who were sick so many years ago did not feel their lives had meaning. The Bummer tanked on this one. It’s feel good shit and it means little for AIDS.
ewe
It doesn’t make it any better when a bi racial man perpetuates racism. It certainly doesn’t help people who are ill. Gee i didn’t know all the people who were sick so many years ago did not feel their lives had meaning. The Bummer tanked on this one. It’s feel good shit and it means little for AIDS.
ewe
World AIDS day is becoming like the sunday NY Times Magazine whose readers made themselves feel empathetic and knowledgeable about issues simply because they scanned the pictures of starving children with flies in their faces over their espresso and mimosas. It’s like neuropathy. The general public has no feeling anymore and as long as they think about AIDS for 2 seconds every December 1st then they did their part for humanity.
mandingo
Obama will do nothing because he is the evil republicans’ bitch
Adam
Maybe I’m being dense, but what is the President supposed to do? It’s not like he’s going to be able to go around door to door to tell the guys looking for something on the DL on Craigslist that they should use a condom. We’re 30 years into the HIV epidemic, by this time if you don’t know to practice safe sex, it’s pretty much your own damn fault.
Red Meat
Thank you Adam, this website is full of idiots.
Andy
We’re basically beating a dead horse here. There is a humanitarian imperative to fund ADAP and other forms of treatment, but it is about as effective at reducing infections as widening a freeway is for eliminating traffic. We’re gonna have to think outside the box on this one. Really, a cure or vaccine is probably the only way to go. A cure is a lot more realistic, and it has the added benefit of actually helping people who have the virus.
ewe
@Adam: @Red Meat: This has nothing to do with fault Adam and you Red Meat are the idiot to believe that.
RLS
It’s very interesting to me that HIV is pretty much continually presented as a black and Latino disease as if gay white guys aren’t getting infected, too.
Steve
Public health is not really about one-time events. Public health is about eduction, prevention, and treatment. And, it is an on-going program that needs reliable funding, year-in and year-out. Part of the funding goes to research — not just about medicine, but also about effective education and prevention. And, of course, every year there is a new crop of young people who are just learning about sex, and who need to be educated about prevention.
Our private medical system is pretty good at research about new medicines or treatments that have the promise of profits. But, it is just awful at prevention. Every time a disease is prevented, the profit that would result from treating it is lost. So, private firms not only have no incentive for prevention or education — they have a powerful incentive to work against prevention or education.
Tackle
I find it intersting also that HIV is being prensented as a Black and Latino disease considering that gay White men outnumber black men something like seven to one. I’m not sure how they outnumber Latinos. But sex and dating is one area where people discriminate the most. As proven by Queerty readers with recent articles here about the discriminating dating practices and hook-ups on Grindr and Manhunt.
I don’t think it’s too outrageous to believe that most White gay/Bi men will have sex with other White men. Whether safe or not. I know that HIV is not just a gay condition.
But if HIV started of as a mostly gay White condition, along with the racial dynamics that goes along with who many choose as sexual partners. And the fact that black gay/Bi men or no more sexual then White gay/Bi men. No more prone to bareback or do other risky practices. And no more prone to drug use,( which clouds judgement). I find it odd but not surprising that HIV is being presented as a Black and Latino condition.
Jeff
Tackle is correct, I’m white and I have latino and black gay and bisexual male friends and my black and latino bi/gay male friends use condoms, practice safer sex, and get tested.
I also practice safer sex, use condoms, and get tested but sometimes it seems as though I’m the only GWM who does.
I have lots of gay white male friends, and even white straight male and female friends who tell me, “I don’t need to use condoms, worry about HIV/STDs, or get tested”. I have met lots of white men who told me, “There’s meds for HIV now if I become poz-which probably won’t happen since it’s OK to be a raw top-I’ll just go on meds!”
I’ve even met straight white men and women who think that HIV is only something that you need to worry about HIV if you’re black, latino and live in the ghetto or hood, bisexual or gay and a man, or an IV drug user.
B
No. 14 · Jeff wrote, “Tackle is correct, I’m white and I have latino and black gay and bisexual male friends and my black and latino bi/gay male friends use condoms, practice safer sex, and get tested.”
Unfortunately, Tackle is not correct. If you look at official government statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#hivaidsrace the number of diagnoses
of HIV infection in 2009 included 21,652 Black/African Americans, 7347 Hispanic/Latino, and 11,803 for Whites. Those are totals – to get the risk per person, you have to scale by the population in each group.
Jeff’s Black and Latino friends, who I presume are all out, are not a representative sample. There are a lot of demographics factors involved: for example, being from a family or community that practices “fire and brimstone” religion (which in some cases makes people so afraid of being labeled as gay that they won’t even walk into a place that hands out HIV-prevention information, living in an urban area where it is easier to hook up, etc.
It’s also worth pointing out that Cynthia Tucker, a highly respected Black columnist, once wrote an article about the problem. You can read it at
http://www.uexpress.com/asiseeit/index.html?uc_full_date=20040312
and we should note that the issue Ms Tucker discusses most likely is not an issue for Jeff’s friends.
figgie
@RLS: very interesting that it’s only portrayed as a black/latino & gay disease…funny cuz I’m a caucasian female & know HIV poz white women..sad we don’t think we are at risk too…we are all at risk here!!! This is also a type of reverse discrimination…like If I were infected, who the hell would I turn to for support??? Cuz, oh yeah, white women “don’t” get HIV…but yes they do, anyone can!!!grrr
Tackle
@B: I see you’ve been drinking the CDC’s Kool-Aid. So whats your favorite flavor. Grape, Lemon, Fruit Punch??
So the CDC is a benevolent orgainization. Benigh. Full of love and compassion. Looking out for the benifit of all mankind. They would never lie or release false and misleading information. Ever! Their numbers are 100% accurate. So accurate, that you would copy and past on here to prove your point. Well OK B. If that’s how you feel about the CDC.
Well, I don’t. The CDC LIES all the time. Just type in: “Lies of the CDC”. Hope it’s not to much of in issue for you. And since you want to site stats by the CDC, can you enlighten us on how the CDC comes to these conclusions?
You should be old enough to know that stats and serveys many times are NOT in indicator of truth, but rather an indicator of power. And when you are in power, you can make stats say “anything” you want them to say. So you link to the CDC and their stats, proves nothing. And BTW, you conveniently left out a very important word. “Estimates”. The word estimates does not prove or show something to be factual.
And you talk about factors involved. Well there are factors involved to get the high number of HIV numbers among Blacks. And it’s very simple. To fool the public and get “gullible” people to believe you. To the point where the will post a link to your website and present it as fact, all a corrupt orgainization like the CDC has to do is
Over & Undersample. This is the reason why they present stats. But never tell how these stats were conducted. How many people were used. They love it when everything they say is swolled. Hook line and sinker. No questions asked.
A quick example. Most of the CDC’s stats and serveys are taken at government funded clinics. Well government funded clinics tend to be in poorer economic areas where more Blacks live. You simply sample more Blacks then Whites. And they get the desired outcome. This is nothing new with them. They have been doing this for 20+ yrs regarding HIV/AIDS. Some people just don’t want to believe this.
And in regard to a community that practices “fire and brimstone” religion. Poor example. Because you have just as many White churches preaching that as Blacks. Mabey more. It’s just that people are brainwashed to see Blacks as a community. That same type of thinking can also lead one to go long periods without any type of sexual contact. Because of thinking they are commiting a sin and will go to hell for it. I “use” to be one.
And about Cynthia Tucker. Her article about the downlow is just plan nonsense. Even the CDC is getting away from this thinking.
Jim Baker
Jim McGreevy
Ted Haggard
Merv Griffin were all on the downlow and prove that it’s not just a Black thing.. The downlow is just a silly sensationalistic word for bisexual behavior.
And Just because Cynthia Tucker wrote an article dosen’t make it a fact. What type of research has she done into the CDC and how they come to these numbers??
I guess she dosen’t know that this is the same orgainization that defended the
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: 1932-1972. She may be respected to you but not to me. And like to many, is drinking the CDC’s Kool-Aid.