While strides are being made to end the HIV epidemic, it is still considered a “worsening public health crisis in the United States.” It has also proven to disproportionately affect Black Americans.
Darwin Thompson, director of public affairs at Gilead Sciences, said there is also a disproportionate impact in the southern United States. Information released by Gilead Sciences and Meharry Medical College said “southern states accounted for 51 percent of new HIV diagnoses in 2020.”
“To add onto these troubling statistics, Black Americans make up 42 percent of new HIV diagnoses. A higher proportion than any other racial or ethnic group,” said Thompson.
In Tennessee, Thompson said Black Americans accounted for 58 percent of new HIV diagnoses. He also said there has been a “sharp increase” in legislative attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and other groups that are more affected by HIV.
Thompson said while HIV is no longer considered a “death sentence,” a new “equity-driven” approach is required to address the social and cultural issues that contribute to the spread of the disease. “Many people who live in the southern U.S. face a multitude of serious societal and systemic challenges that fuel the epidemic including the burden of poverty, stigma, prejudice, low health literacy, and lack of insurance and access to care,” said Thompson.
In hopes of collaborating with community-based organizations, Gilead launched its COMPASS initiative in 2017 for “HIV advocacy focused on evidence-based policies.” One of the partners of the COMPASS initiative is Relationships Unleashed, a nonprofit organization based in Memphis.
Gwendolyn Clemons, executive director of Relationships Unleashed, said the mission of the organization is personal to her, as she lost her sister, who died a year after being diagnosed with HIV. “The lack of education and understanding of HIV in the Black community, along with stigma associated with it, both exist in our community,” Clemons said.
Clemons said Shelby County has one of the highest new infection rates for HIV. In March, the Flyer reported that Shelby County ranked number three in “incidence rates of new HIV infections in the United States,” and the disease disproportionately affected those in minority populations.
“One area in particular that we found problematic in Memphis, was the continuous rise of new HIV diagnosis in Black, same-gender loving men, and Black cisgender women,” said Clemons. “The city that we love so much has continuously been ranked in the top 10 of diagnoses for years.”
James E.K. Hildreth, president of Meharry Medical College, said the problem of HIV has never been “strictly medical.” He said that a broader approach is required, specifically honing in on community leaders and organizations and the role they play in ending the virus.
“To truly end the epidemic, we need community solutions that work in the context of those communities,” said Hildreth. “We also need to have communities work hand in hand — scientific community and healthcare providers.”