CAN Community Health has created the ‘Community Health Initiative to focus on prevention and education efforts within communities of color to create change, enable growth, and influence a change in health disparities. The purpose of this initiative is to create outreach focused initiatives based on testing and educational events, as well as increasing the collaboration with black and brown organizations. Learn more below regarding the prevalence rates occurring within communities of color, and our plan of action to provide education and testing interventions.
It’s important for Communities of Color to get tested.
Stigma, racism, homophobia, poverty, and other numerous barriers to care increase health disparities for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino communities when accessing HIV and STI services. The disproportionate impact of HIV when compared to other racial/ethnic groups is outstanding. As of 2019, 1.2 million people in the US are living with HIV. In 2019, the Black community represented 13% of the population, however, accounted for 40% of people living with HIV.
The Hispanic/Latino community represented 18.5% of the population and accounted for 25% of people living with HIV in 2019. Evidence shows that effective prevention and treatment are missed opportunities for communities of color consistently shown in data year to year. At CAN Community Health, we have created an initiative to focus on providing quality prevention and education services to cater to the Black and Brown community to increase visibility, support and access.
It’s easy to get tested.
Black Women accounted for the largest demographic of new HIV diagnosis in 2018, 58% of new HIV diagnosis were among black women. Black women also accounted for the largest share of women living with an HIV diagnosis at the end of 2017. Stigma interferes with communication about risk perception creating larger barriers for Black women to access testing services and care. Easy Testing Locations Near You.
Support for Transwomen
The CDC released a report in 2021 that found 4 in 10 transgender women surveyed in seven major U.S. cities are living with HIV and. It was noted that two-thirds of African American/Black transgender women surveyed were living with HIV. Research has also shown transgender women in comparison to the general U.S. population are 34 times more likely to have HIV than other adult populations. The disparity of HIV grows larger when examining racial and ethnic groups, 44% of Black transgender women are living with HIV, and 26% of transgender Latinx women are living with HIV.
CAN Community Health is mobilizing.
Black Women account for the largest demographic of new HIV diagnoses, 58% of Black Women were diagnosed in 2018. Black women also accounted for the largest share of women living with an HIV diagnosis at the end of 2017. At CAN Community Health, we have created an initiative to focus on providing prevention and education services to cater to Black women to increase visibility and support. We are creating more robust outreach initiatives centering on testing and education, as well as increasing collaboration with Black organizations across the network.
