The Subcommitee of African American Affairs (SCAAA) manages the African American HIV/AIDS Network which is a network of individuals who work in HIV/AIDS ministry in the African American community.

In addition, the SCAAA networks and collaborates with the Subcommittee for Hispanic Affairs and the National Catholic AIDS Network to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

HIV/AIDS Resources

HIV and AIDS in the African American Community

In the United States, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a health crisis for African Americans. At all stages of HIV/AIDS,from infection with HIV to death with AIDS,African Americans are disproportionately affected compared with members of other races and ethnicities.

Statistics on HIV and AIDS in 2005

  • According to the 2000 census, African Americans make up approximately 13% of the US population. However, in 2005, African Americans accounted for 18,510 (49%) of the estimated 38,096 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting [2].
  • Of all African American men living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact [2].
  • Of all African American women living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was high-risk heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use [2].
  • Of the estimated 141 infants perinatally infected with HIV, 91 (65%) were African American (CDC, HIV/AIDS Reporting System, unpublished data, December 2006).
  • Of the estimated 18,849 people under the age of 25 whose diagnosis of HIV/AIDS was made during 2001–2004 in the 33 states with HIV reporting, 11,554 (61%) were African American [3].

Race/ethnicity of persons (including children) with HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 2005

AIDS in 2005

  • African Americans accounted for 22,030 (50%) of the estimated 44,198 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia [2].
  • The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American adults and adolescents was 10 times the rate for whites and nearly 3 times the rate for Hispanics. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American women was nearly 24 times the rate for white women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African American men was 8 times the rate for white men [2].
  • The 188,077 African Americans living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for 44% of the 425,910 people in the United States living with AIDS [2].
  • Of the 58 US children (younger than 13 years of age) who had a new AIDS diagnosis, 39 were African American [2].
  • Since the beginning of the epidemic, African Americans have accounted for 399,637 (42%) of the estimated 956,666 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia [2].
  • From the beginning of the epidemic through December 2005, an estimated 211,559 African Americans with AIDS died [2].
  • Of persons whose diagnosis of AIDS had been made during 1997-2004, a smaller proportion of African Americans (66%) were alive after 9 years compared with American Indians and Alaska Natives (67%), Hispanics (74%), whites (75%), and Asians and Pacific Islanders (81%) [2].

Endnotes

1.LCWK2. Deaths, percent of total deaths, and death rates for the 15 leading causes of death in 10-year age groups, by race and sex: United States, 2003. Accessed January 29, 2007.

2.CDC. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2005. Vol. 17. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2006:1-54. Accessed January 28, 2007.

3.CDC. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Diagnoses of HIV/AIDS --- 33 States, 2001--2004. MMWR 2006;55:121-125.