By Jesus Garcia
09 Jul 2024, 12:38 PM EDT
A campaign by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to end the HIV pandemic in the United States, but the results have been uneven, particularly for Latinos, due to several factors.
An analysis by KFF Health News and the Associated Press reveals that estimated rates of new HIV infections have declined 23% from 2012 to 2022, but the rate has not dropped for Latinos.
“While African Americans overall continue to have the highest rates of HIV in the country, Latinos accounted for the majority of new HIV diagnoses and infections among gay and bisexual men in 2022,” the report says.
To put the findings into perspective, research by Vanessa Sánchez, Devna Bose and Phillip Reese points out that Latinos make up approximately 19% of the U.S. population, but accounted for around 33% of new HIV infections.
The information was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
He points out that the increases have occurred in southern states, but there is no direct correlation between Republican or Democratic governments.
“The analysis found that Latinos are experiencing a disproportionate number of new infections and diagnoses nationwide, with the highest diagnosis rates in the Southeast,” it said.
Vanessa Sánchez, from KFF Health News, explains in the podcast “El Diario Sin Límites” the main challenges that Latinos face against HIV.
“There are several elements, right?, that even the directors of public health in the states told us about. One has to do with the movement of people, there is a lot of internal migration. […] Housing has become so expensive that they have had to go live in other places in the south,” says Sánchez.
>> Besides internal migration in the U.S., what other factors contribute to the increase in HIV infection among Latinos in certain states?
>> What do Latinos fear that prevents them from taking an HIV test or seeking medical services?
>> Is there a reduction in infections in Democratic states?
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