Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is Saturday, Aug. 20, and Kirk Myers, founder and CEO of Abounding Prosperity Inc., reminded the Dallas community of the continuing important of HIV/AIDS awareness, advocacy and services.
“It’s no secret that the HIV epidemic disproportionately impacts the American South,” Myers said. “While we have made strides toward ending the epidemic, the fact that Dallas and the rest of the South bear so much of the burden on new diagnoses and lack of resources for prevention and care is alarming.
“Organizations like Abounding Prosperity must continue our mission of providing testing, prevention and treatment services to the community to fight this epidemic while also managing other urgent public health issues like COVID-19 and monkeypox,” he said.
The southern part of the U.S. currently experiences the greatest burden of HIV of any region in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 51 percent of new HIV cases annually, even though just 38 percent of the U.S. population lives here, according to the CDC.
Not only does this region see a greater proportion of new HIV diagnoses, it is also lagging behind in providing quality HIV prevention services and care, a situation further compounded by the steep decline in the rates of HIV testing and care in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving those most vulnerable even more susceptible.
According to the CDC, in 2020 there were 19,412 people in Dallas living with HIV and 688 new diagnoses. However, only 78 percemy of people living with HIV in Dallas received HIV care in that year.
Myers said, “In the face of the many challenges our community must deal with every day, Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an important reminder to refocus our efforts on the epidemic we have been fighting for the last forty years. Abounding Prosperity and others must continue to advocate for resources to help reduce the number of new HIV infections — as well as provide for those currently living with HIV — while also working to combat the stigma surrounding the virus.”
Gilead Sciences has created the website HIVTestNow.com to help people learn more about HIV testing and where they can get tested.
