Poverty & HIV

This piece hit straight on the core of the African problem. I could not have said it any better so as to reflect the truth in community today.

" Poverty fuels the HIV epidemic due to its impact on all aspects of life, including income, housing, education,nutrition, access to health care -- and the list goes on. In the African-American communities where poverty rates are even higher, there exists a greater gap in all of these areas that fuels the inability to negotiate, feel empowered, get educated on HIV and get tested.

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Let's be real: If I can't afford my next meal or next month's rent, do you think I'm going to make a big deal about using condoms? Because the man that's taking care of me is taking care of her too. No, I have too much else to deal with.
But there is hope. Many community organizations are now targeting these communities to conduct HIV testingand connect those who test positive, or are lost to care, to medical treatment. Even though we cannot always directly impact the poverty levels in these communities, we can impact the availability of testing and education resources."

Ingrid Floyd, Executive Director, Iris House, New York