Poverty and the HIV Health Disparity The Season for Change Advent Study Week Two

Reflection on Putting Faith into Action ▪ What “challenge” did you take on after last week’s study? ▪ Feel free to share … – Thoughts – Concerns – Challenges – Triumphs

Health Disparity ▪ What is a health disparity? – Occurrence of a disease at greater levels among certain population groups ▪ Differences may occur by – gender – race or ethnicity – education – income – disability – geographic location – sexual orientation

HIV Health Disparity – U.S. ▪ Who has been most affected by HIV in U.S.? – African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans ▪ African Americans – 12% of total US population – 45% of all AIDS cases reported in the country ▪ Hispanics – 14.4% of the US population in 2005 – 18.9% of persons who received the AIDS diagnosis

New Infections in the U.S. ▪ In 2007, African American and Hispanic teens and young adults accounted for … – 87% of new infections among yr. olds in U.S. – 79% of new infections among yr. olds in U.S. ▪ But together African American and Hispanic teens make up only 32% of entire age group !

Global HIV Health Disparity What areas most affected globally? ▪ Sub-Saharan Africa – 68% of people living with HIV worldwide – 70% of new infections among adults and children – 67% of the world’s AIDS-related deaths in 2010 – In 2012, 56 million orphans in Africa. 27% of those became orphans due to HIV/AIDS-related deaths ▪ Caribbean – 2 nd highest rate of HIV in the world

Something is Wrong With This Picture!

A “Pandemic for the Poor” ▪ Poverty & income disparity contribute to HIV health disparity ▪ Poverty rates within the following populations – non-Hispanic whites – 9.9% – Asians – 12.1% – African Americans – 27.4% – Hispanics – 26.6% Racism and White Privilege Wider Income Gaps Higher Incidences of HIV

Rates of Persons Living with an HIV Diagnosis & Poverty Rates, by County, 2010 Persons Living with an HIV diagnosis Poverty Rates * Data are not shown to protect privacy. ** State health department requested not to release data. † Data not available because the data source does not publish these data for this jurisdiction. Note. Data include persons with a diagnosis of HIV infection, regardless of the stage of disease at diagnosis, and have been statistically adjusted to account for reporting delays and missing risk-factor information, but not for incomplete reporting. Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.

Global South ▪ UN definition of global poverty = living on less than $1.25 a day ▪ Sub-Saharan Africa and Caribbean have some of the highest rates of poverty ▪ Extreme income disparities – Industrialized nations- 15:1 – Sub-Saharan Africa- 24:1 – Caribbean- 46:1

Why Are People Living in Poverty So Affected? ▪ Possible exposure to HIV-risk behaviors – Injection drug – Unprotected sex ▪ Even greater risk factors – Limited/no access to health care (due to geography and/or limited funds) – Lack of adequate, comprehensive sex-education

Why? It’s Complicated

If/Then If… ▪ People living in poverty are at higher risk of getting HIV ▪ And a disproportionate percentage of African American and Hispanic communities in U.S. and people living in the Global South live in poverty Then… ▪ These communities are disproportionately affected by HIV

Stigma ▪ Stigma of HIV? ▪ Stigma of people living in poverty?

Did You Know? ▪ Current federal minimum wage in U.S. is $7.25 ▪ You can work FULL-TIME at this wage and STILL fall at/below the national poverty line ▪ Federal minimum wage ≠ living wage Source:

" Every person has the right to a job at a living wage.” Social Principles ¶163C

Factors of Global Poverty ▪ Government corruption ▪ Civil war ▪ Natural disasters ▪ Education quality and availability ▪ Healthcare quality and availability ▪ Maternal and infant mortality ▪ Limited food ▪ Limited drinking water ▪ Child marriage ▪ Gender-based violence ▪ Human trafficking

Why Should We Care ▪ About people infected with HIV/AIDS? ▪ About people living in poverty? – Deuteronomy 15:10-11 – Psalm 82:3-4 – Psalm 140:12 – Proverbs 31:8-9 – Isaiah 58:6-7 – Luke 14:12-14 – Romans 12:13 – 1 John 3:17-18

Advent Reflection & Resources ▪ Visit gbcsumc.info/HIV-Advent to download handouts and additional material. ▪ For additional information, visit the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund website Health/HIV-AIDS Health/HIV-AIDS