The HIV/AIDS rate in Washington, D.C., has reached epidemic proportions. More than 3 percent of the District’s residents have HIV or AIDS, the highest rate in the nation and one that is on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya, according to a study released Monday by D.C.’s HIV/AIDS Administration. The report documented a 22 percent increase in reported cases since 2006, with new cases coming from both men and women, of all races.
While better treatment of HIV/AIDS patients has resulted in a declining mortality rate over the same period, D.C. Health officials have failed to combat the spread of the virus because inadequate attention has been paid to improving prevention efforts and implementing more aggressive testing programs for those who are most at risk. What is most shocking about this report’s findings is that it only includes those who have already tested positive, leaving out the many potentially thousands of individuals who are unknowingly HIV/AIDS positive.
These startling findings have shocked D.C. Health administrators into action. Shannon Hader, director of D.C.’s HIV/AIDS administration, promised in a press conference Tuesday to “diagnose more people as early as possible.” This type of effort to identify the true nature of the current HIV/AIDS situation in the District is crucial to stopping the spread of the virus. Next, the city’s administrators should work closely with local non-profits and community organizations to provided targeted prevention efforts at the neighborhood level.
Instead of focusing solely on treatment, the city should focus work on prevention programs to promote the use of condoms and clean needles. However, before these programs can take effect, administrators should work to dispel the negative stereotypes associated with getting tested. HIV/AIDS carries a particularly strong stigma because of the risky behavior associated with testing positive. Although Washington, D.C., was one of the first cities to create an HIV/AIDS administration, the focus of the groups should instead be on working to establish local neighborhood services that can better serve their communities by making the process of getting tested more acceptable.
The District’s HIV/AIDS crisis has reached a breaking point: city officials and non-profit organizations will need to make a concerted efforts to turn back the swelling tide of new cases. Signs of change are beginning to show and promises are being made in response to Monday’s study; however, talk is cheap when compared to the costs D.C. will incur to repair its health services infrastructure. District administrators must invest in HIV/AIDS prevention programs now to promote in the future health of our ailing city.
