Health & HIV/AIDS

"Today, right now, more than 45 percent of African-American gay and bi men in key urban areas are infected with HIV, with a 33 percent increase in new diagnoses among our brothers under age 30 over the past six years. Today, right now, African Americans are nearly 10 times more likely than white people to be diagnosed with AIDS.

"The response — internal to our community and external — is appallingly racist. Internally, when these numbers come out, the “established” gay community seems to have a collective shrug as if this isn’t our problem. Folks, with 70 percent of the people in this country living with HIV being gay or bi, we cannot deny that HIV is a gay disease. We have to own that and face up to that.

"Even more disgusting is the response of our government. Of the 129 interventions developed and approved by the CDC to address HIV in the African-American community, only one has been designed for gay black men. Twenty-six years into the epidemic and only one out of 129 addresses the group of people most affected by HIV. And, on top of that, funding for meaningful and honest prevention programs has been systematically excised from the federal budget. If these things don’t prove that our government considers the lives of gay black men utterly expendable, I don’t know what does."
Matt Foreman, from his "State of the Movement" speech [1], February 8, 2008

The health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are often not known by research and health authorities and, even when known, are ignored and under-funded. Although the last decade has brought great breakthroughs and advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, prevention policy and programs have lagged and been constrained by “abstinence-only” rules. In major part due to continuing ignorance and stigma, the disease is now particularly afflicting communities of color. In addition to HIV/AIDS, members of our community struggle with depression, drug abuse, cancer and heart disease, among other health issues. The scope, incidence and causes of these health problems in the LGBT community are under-researched and, as a result, too frequently not addressed.

In addition, the oppressive social forces at play in LGBT lives — widespread discrimination, poverty, racism, sexism — adversely impact our community’s health and well-being. Obtaining medical prevention and treatment is made problematic by discrimination-induced poverty, lack of insurance and lack of medical and mental health providers experienced in working with LGBT clients.

Why It Matters:

Discrimination and a lack of appropriate funding for our community’s health needs deprive many LGBT people and their families of the care they need and prevent us from achieving the optimal level of health and wellness.

What We’re Doing:

• The Task Force’s Public Policy & Government Affairs [1] team is working hard on Capitol Hill to advocate for better policies and to secure funds to support the health needs of LGBT people.

Other sources for information

AIDS Action [2]

amfAR [3]

National Association of People with AIDS [4]

National Minority AIDS Council [5]