About the South
- The Southern US accounts for approximately 45% of all people living with an HIV diagnosis in the US. The South continues to be the region most impacted by new HIV infections accounting for 52% of all new diagnoses. In 2019, 48% of all deaths among people with HIV were in the South
- People living in the South are more likely to be diagnosed with HIV over the course of their lifetime than other Americans, with the highest risk in Washington, DC (1 in 13), Maryland (1 in 49), Georgia (1 in 51), Florida (1 in 54), and Louisiana (1 in 56).
- Latino Gay and Bisexual men in the South experienced an increase of 39% of new HIV diagnoses from 2008 to 2017
- SASI found that in six target Deep South states (excluding Texas and Florida), 26% of Hispanic/Latino PLWHA live outside of a large urban area.
- Latinos continue to face barriers in accessing HIV-related prevention services and treatment due to stigma, lack of bilingual providers, and fear of deportation. Concerns of deportation continue to be a barrier to HIV care attendance even though the United States travel ban on HIV-infected visitors was lifted in 2009
- 63% of the LGBT population lives in the Midwest, Mountain, and Southern regions of the country with the South accounting for 35%. LGBT populations in the South are also more likely to be African-American and Latino/a than the non-LGBT population.
1 Deeper look: HIV in the South. AIDSVu. (2022, July 28). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://aidsvu.org/resources/deeper-look-south/
2 Deeper look: HIV in the South. AIDSVu. (2022, July 28). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://aidsvu.org/resources/deeper-look-south/
3 Deeper look: HIV in the South. AIDSVu. (2022, July 28). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://aidsvu.org/resources/deeper-look-south/
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, February 23). 2016 CROI press release: Lifetime HIV risk. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2016/croi-press-release-risk.html
5 Deeper look: HIV in the South. AIDSVu. (2022, July 28). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://aidsvu.org/resources/deeper-look-south/
6 McAllester, C. (2018, December). New Sasi Analysis: The urban non-urban HIV divide in the Deep South. Southern AIDS Coalition. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://southernaids.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/new-sasi-analysis-the-urban-non-urban-hiv-divide-in-the-deep-south.pdf
7 United States Travel Ban Lifted for People Living with HIV. Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Bureau of Infectious Disease. Retreieved June 2, 2020 from: http://mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/aids/hiv-travel-ban-repeal.pdf
8 Hasenbush, A., Flores, A. R., Kastanis, A., Sears, B., & Gates, G. J. (n.d.). The LGBT divide. The LGBT Divide | Williams Institute. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/lgbtdivide/