Rate of new HIV cases especially high for black women
Ladies, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’d like to remind you all to be safe out there this weekend.
Especially because a recent study of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Missouri shows that infection rates are 8 times higher among blacks than whites, with new cases particularly high among black women. Those women make up 12 percent of the state’s population but account for 69 percent of new HIV cases.
If this information inspires you to get involved in prevention, February is a great month to do it. Metro churches are in the middle of the Taking It to the Pews (TIPS) awareness campaign, which focuses on preaching to the black community about dealing with the disease and destigmatizing HIV victims.
Sad to say, this news about disparate infection rates in the black community isn’t anything new. The Pitch‘s May 2008 feature “Change Is Gonna Come” detailed the TIPS program and how, at the time, HIV was spreading so fast in KC that it was comparable to Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the new cases were young black men and women.
If you don’t know your status, look at takethetest.info to find confidential testing centers around Missouri.
