INRODUCTION

The AIDS epidemic swept through the United States in 1980s and is still one of the major causes of deaths to this date. As of 2006 the United States has had approximately one million Americans with HIV. (Article 1)  The epidemic was started in the Gay community but now the communities with the most HIV/AIDS cases are the minority communities. In the United States the African American community is the community with the most HIV and AIDS cases. African Americans make up 13 percent of the US population with 49 percent of that population being people with AIDS (cdc,2006) (article 2). Another minority community that is being affected by the AIDS epidemic is the Hispanic community, where 21 percent of the 14 percent of the population in the United States have AIDS.(cdc, 2006 ) (Article 2). These two races together account for more that 50 percent of the United States population with AIDS.

            The amount of cases of HIV/AIDS in the State of New York reflects that of the national level. The total number of people living with HIV in New York is 41,989 (NY department of Health) cases while there are 70,353 cases (NY department of Health) of people living with AIDS in New York.  The Bronx also has high rates of people living with HIV/AIDS. Total number of people living with HIV/AIDS in then Bronx is 20001 cases. (NY department of Health)  There are specific factors that are contributing to the high amount of cases in New York State and in the Bronx.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

            My pervious papers have shown me that there are two major groups of people who are being affected by HIV/AIDS. Those two groups are African American males and Hispanic males.

            The African American males are said to have very high rates of HIV and AIDS.  It is said that the third major cause of death in African American men is AIDS. (Article 3) In 2005 “the rate of AIDS for African American men was 8 times the rate for white men.”  (Article 5) The fact remains that African Americans are being place at the center of the AIDS epidemic because of their high risk sexual activities.

            African men are not the only group that is being put into the center of the AIDS epidemic. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is also taking a toll on the Hispanic community because “Hispanics in the district have the highest rate of New Aids cases in the country.” (article 4)  The Hispanic men especially are a big contribution to the problem although they are not as prevalent as the African Americans.  Hispanics have an HIV/AIDS rate of 64 men per 100,000 (article 3). The contraction of the virus is caused by various factors. Those factors are Men Having Sex with MEN, a lack of condom use, the stigma behind the disease and getting tested and lastly the distrust of the government and health center.

            PROBLEMS

MSM

            MSM is one of the most prevalent causes of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the minority. “Among African-American men of all ages who have sex with men, the annual increase in diagnoses was 1.9 percent.” (Article 8) These men are on the “down low” and therefore also have sex with women which then cause the women to contract the disease thus spreading HIV/AIDS even more in the society.  

 Stigma

            Stigma is also linked to how the disease is contracted. In the case of minority men they do not want to reveal that they are men who have sex with other men because it is a taboo for a man of color to be bisexual or gay.(article 6) This stigma causes the men to be afraid of losing their jobs and their families because of their sexual orientation, they also fear ostracism.(Article 7)  The stigma in clinical settings may discourage HIV-infected individuals for accessing needed health care services. (Article 9) The stigmas about the disease create major barriers to the successful control of HIV. (article 10,11,12)

Lack of use of Condoms

            There are many different arguments for the lack of use of condoms. One argument that is made by minorities is that it is difficult to use condom during sexual activity. (Article 13) Another argument is that the use of condoms decreases the sexual pleasure. (article 14) The most blatant argument is that people just don’t want to use condoms. (article 15) These people fail to realize that they are putting themselves and their partners at risk for getting HIV/AIDS, yet they say that “condoms ruin sex … they break, they are uncomfortable and ineffective against AIDS,” (article 16) this shows that some people in the Puerto Rican population need to be educated on how to use condoms and learn what a condom does to protect the users. In Heterosexual relationships there are still high risks of contracting HIV/AIDS  and therefore sexual partners should use condoms.

Conspiracy theories

            In the minority population there is a strong mistrust of the health care system and also a mistrust in the government. “One of the theories is that HIV/AIDS is a man made virus that the federal government made to kill and wipe out black people and that the cure for AIDS is being with held from the poor,” these theories show what some of the black population  thinks of the federal government. (article 17, 18) This mistrust and other conspiracies cause the themes of reluctance to participate in different HIV trials. (Article 21)

Prisons

            In the minority population “African Americans and Latinos account for almost two-thirds of the 2.2 million Americans in prison nationwide.”(article 19) When the men are incarcerated the tend to have sex in prison with other men and there are high rates of STDs including HIV/AIDS, thus putting the men at risk. When the men leave incarceration the resume their normal livesand therefore put their sexual partners in jeopardy of getting different STDs or even HIV/AIDS. (Article 20)

SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS

            I have come up with a plan that will hopefully solve most if not all of the problems that are present. The Black and Hispanic men face a lot of criticism from other people about getting tested for HIV/AIDS and for all the different stigmas that go along with HIV/AIDS.

            My plan starts out with placing mediator center in the Fordham part of the Bronx because unlike every other part of the Bronx there are only 5 centers where helps available to HIV/AIDS patients. This Mediator center will be a non profit organization where people can come in and talk to someone about their problems, it maybe a counselor or a worker. Everything in the center will be kept confidential. There will also be free condoms available for people who want and need them. 

            The other part of the plan will be dedicated to getting people, who want to get tested for AIDS/HIV, referrals to hospitals and health centers that do testing for HIV/AIDS either by the name of the patient or anonymously so as to protect the patient.  There will also be bilingual personal to help with people who do not speak English.

            One of the most important parts to this plan is getting the people in the communities to understand that stigmas are bad ad that they should not participate in spreading stigmas.  It is also important to debunk the conspiracy theories behind the use of condoms so that more minorities can start to use protection. The way in which I plan to get rid of all of these preconceived notions is by creating a play which encompasses the different stigmas and conspiracy theories. I would then advertise the play in a specific neighborhood in the Bronx each week and set up a show date at a park or a school or some place that will attract people. After the play is done there will be a question and answer segment so that people can find out more about everything the center has to offer and about what they can do to help stop that spread of aids.

            The program is cost efficient because the office space to rent is between 2,000 and 4,000. There is also the cost of 10000 condoms per month and that will cost $2400 because the Durex condoms are 100 condoms for $24. We will get funding through founders and fund raisers and also apply for grants that will help up pay for everything. The center hours are from 4 pm to 12 am, this is so because most people work day jobs and therefore this will accommodate everyone.

This plan would help to reduce the spread of aids because after the play is seen hopefully people will stop talking about the stigmas that coincide with AIDS/HIV, therefore causing the people who want to get tested to do so.  There will also be a bilingual part of the program which will help to get awareness out to the men and women who do not speak the English language.