Two very different counties, one similar HIV/AIDS problem

While people with HIV/AIDS are now living longer, healther lives, the disease continues to have a disproportionate effect on the African-Amercan communities.

Overall, African Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 44 percent of HIV cases.

This was the call to action for members of the National Organization of Black County Officials (NOBCO) at the recent announcement of Phase II of Fulton County, Ga.’s prevention initiative: Objectives and Actions on “The Strategy to End AIDS in Fulton County.”

Commissioner Joan Garner was joined by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for an update from the Fulton County Task Force on HIV/AIDS in Atlanta on June 27. The task force was formed in December 2014 in response to reports that the Atlanta region’s HIV numbers were approaching third-world levels.

Garner aims to move swiftly in addressing this major health issue.

More than 100 community members and health care professionals attended the event.

Speakers included, Fulton County Board Chairman John H. Eaves, county health director Kathleen Toomey, and Dr. Wendy Armstrong and Daniel Driffin, co-chairs to the task force.

The event was held in conjunction with National HIV Testing Day, which was started in 1995 by the National Association of People with AIDS.

HIV prevention advocates nationwide used the day to promote testing. In Fulton County, 3,000 people are HIV positive but don’t know their status, according to the Task Force.

Currently, African Americans account for 60 percent of cases among woman, 40 percent of cases among adolescents, and 69 percent of cases among children.

Like Fulton County, Alameda County, Calif. has been facing a similar dilemma, according to county Supervisor Keith Carson.

In 1998, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), whose district includes Alameda County stated that the region was facing a local health crisis. The incidence of HIV/AIDS was five times higher among African-American populations than Hispanic or white populations. A county-based state of emergency was declared and was considered to be the first of its kind in the nation.

In light of the growing numbers, Carson’s office has been working closely with national prevention and awareness organizations strategizing to stop the spread of the disease. The county’s Office of AIDS Administration has been a key partner in these efforts, working with community-based providers for testing diverse populations and providing better connections to Linkage-to-Care and Retention-In-Care support programs.

The Affordable Care Act has also been a big factor for Alameda County’s support system. Now that more people have access to basic health care, the Office of AIDS and other local health providers and support agencies can help more people who would have otherwise never entered the front door.

However, there is more work to be done as Carson and the numerous organizations and people seek new platforms and methods for sharing information.

They have looked into social networking, testing, improved data collection to help organizations and further partnerships with researchers particularly interested in HIV’s effect on African American health.