HIV Facts and Statistics

In 2002 the rate of reported AIDS cases in Washington DC was 162.4 per 100,000 compared to 14.8 per 100,000 for the United States. This is indicative of the disproportionate impact of the epidemic in the District of Columbia.

In a local study of AIDS cases reported in year 2001, comparing the District of Columbia to cities with populations larger than 500,000, it was found that the District of Columbia had the highest rate, 119 cases per 100,000, of all cities included. This rate was the highest rate for AIDS in the nation for 2001. The District was followed closely by Baltimore, with 117 cases per 100,000. San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia were ranked third, fourth and fifth with 67, 64, and 58 cases per 100,000 respectively.

  • AIDS is the NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH for Black adults aged 25 to 44, before heart disease, cancer, and homicide
  • 61% of new AIDS cases are among black teen girls ages 13-19
  • Black senior citizens represent more than 50 percent of HIV cases among persons over 55
  • Black children represent 62% (almost two-thirds) of all reported pediatric AIDS cases
  • Of the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections each year, more than 50 percent occur among African Americans, although we only account for 12 percent of the U.S. population
  • Intravenous drug use is fueling the epidemic in Black communities. It accounts for 43 percent of infections among Black women and 38 percent among Black men. Many women contact HIV infection through sex with an injection drug user.
  • In 1998, men of color who had sex with men represented 52 percent of total AIDS cases. By comparison, in 1989 men of color who had sex with men represented 31 percent of total AIDS cases.
  • Over the past year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a serious outbreak on many historical Black college campuses.
  • Although only 15 percent of the adolescent population in the United stated is Black, over 60 percent of AIDS cases reported in 1999 among 13-19 year olds were among Blacks.

 

AIDS is a global problem among Black people. The World Health Organization reveals that the disease is the number one leading cause of death in Africa. The United Nations estimated that two million Africans died of AIDS in 1998, accounting for 80 percent of the worldwide total of AIDS deaths. Nine out of ten children with HIV are in sub Saharan Africa. By the end of the year 2000, a cumulative total of 13 million children, the majority in Africa, had lost one or both parents to AIDS.                      

 

**Data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Harvard AIDS Institute; D.C. Department of Health**