By: Patrick Chaulk, M.D. – Assistant Commissioner, HIV/STD Services, Baltimore City Health Department

Make no mistake about it – Baltimore has been hit hard by the HIV epidemic. Baltimore City has the sixth highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the country and one of the country’s highest HIV death rates. And although the number of newly reported HIV infections in Baltimore between 2009 and 2011 decreased overall by more than 24 percent, new infections diagnosed in the black community have increased by 1.5 percent.

African Americans are the racial/ethnic group that is most disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS in communities across the United States, and this is certainly true in Baltimore.  While accounting for approximately 62% of the city’s population, African Americans represent approximately 84% of all people living with HIV/AIDS (nearly 11,000 people).  In 2012, 86% of newly diagnosed HIV infections in Baltimore were among African Americans (more than 402 people) and African Americans in the city are five times more likely to die from HIV and AIDS than their white counterparts.

February 7th marked the 15th anniversary of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative targeting our African American brothers and sisters. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen,and Councilman Nick Mosby were among the speakers highlighting the impact of HIV/AIDS on Baltimore’s black community during a NBHAAD event that afternoon sponsored by our partners from Total Health Care at Mondawmin Mall, and BCHD provided free and confidential HIV screening.

NBHAAD 2015’s theme was “I am my Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper:  Fight HIV/AIDS,” reminding all segments of the black community that they can play an important role in combatting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and specifically urging blacks to Get Educated, Get Tested,Get Involved, and Get Treated.  

The majority of HIV/AIDS infections in Baltimore, as they do nationally, occur among men who have sex with men (MSM), especially young black MSM. In 2012, black men accounted for 60% of all new HIV infections in Baltimore City. Currently, the rate of new HIV infections for black men is more than six times as high as the rate among white men and more than twice that of Hispanic men and black women.

However, black women in the city are also significantly impacted by HIV infection. In 2012, black women accounted for 25% of all new HIV infections and 85% of all new infections among women in Baltimore. Similarly, in the United States, black women currently account for 13% of all new HIV infections and 64% of all new infections among women.

While defeating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Baltimore’s black community is certainly challenging, BCHD’s HIV/STD Prevention Program continues to provide services and form collaborative partnerships that assist the community with combatting this problem. The program also provides free HIV testing (along with HIV health education) at the Druid and Eastern STD Clinics, on its mobile vans (which often park throughout the city at sites where persons at high risk are likely to be located), at community events such as Baltimore’s African American Festival, Artscape, and Baltimore Gay Pride, and on college campuses.

In addition, free HIV testing is available at some community-based organizations which the HIV/STD Prevention Program funds, as well as at community health centers /federally qualified health centers, emergency departments and at non-traditional sites such as the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, along with organizations with whom we partner to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the community.

Although HIV/AIDS is epidemic in the City’s black community, everyone should get tested and know their status. Persons who are negative (not infected) should engage in behaviors that keep them negative. Persons who are positive should remember that HIV infection is no longer a death sentence. There are medications that help HIV-positive persons stay healthy and live productive lives. Help is also available from the HIV/STD Prevention Program for positive persons that need to be linked to care, and the program has one of the best linkage to care programs in Maryland. To further help reduce the transmission of HIV infection, the program also has a Partner Services program available to partners of persons who are diagnosed as HIV-positive.

NBHAAD highlights the HIV/AIDS crisis throughout America’s black communities and while February 7th has passed, all Baltimoreans can still participate in activities during the rest of the year that help to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and assist our brothers and sisters who are HIV-positive. One way to do that is to organize a testing event in the community. Local colleges, religious congregations (churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, etc.), and community centers, are some possible testing sites to consider. Another way is to speak about the importance of HIV prevention and treatment at your local faith-based organization, or support a local HIV/AIDS service organization or community-based organization involved in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.