By Maxine Waters
Guest Columnist
World AIDS Day 2024, which was celebrated Dec. 1, is a time to reflect on the progress we have made in our fight against HIV/AIDS, honor those who have died, and unite in solidarity to give hope to those who are still living with the disease.
We have come a long way since the first cases of what we now know as AIDS were reported in the United States in 1981. During the early years of the epidemic, the disease ravaged gay communities in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, while most of our nation’s leaders refused to take it seriously.
They thought it was just a “gay disease,” which the rest of society could simply ignore. Worse yet, some of them treated people living with HIV and AIDS as if they deserved their fate. Tragically, this lack of attention caused the disease to spread rapidly, especially among African Americans and other minority communities.
More than 700,000 people have died of AIDS in the United States since 1981, and there are now 62,800 people in Los Angeles County and 1.2 million American women, men and children who are living with HIV/AIDS.
Fortunately, HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Public awareness and prevention efforts have reduced infection rates, and advances in research, care and treatment are allowing infected individuals to live longer and healthier lives.
Nevertheless, racial and ethnic minorities continue to be severely and disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, and the impacts upon African Americans have been especially severe. Black Americans now account for 40% of new HIV diagnoses, and Latinos account for 25%. Asian Americans, Native Americans, and persons of multiple races account for an additional 6%.
The rate of new HIV diagnoses among African Americans is about eight times that of whites, and the rate among Latinos is about four times that of whites. Furthermore, Black women account for more than half of new HIV diagnosis among women. Minorities now represent the majority of new HIV diagnoses, people living with HIV/AIDS and deaths among people with HIV/AIDS.
Throughout my career, I have been a strong advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, screening and treatment, with a particular emphasis on the minority communities that have borne the brunt of the disease. I began my work on HIV/AIDS during the 1980s while I was in the California State Assembly, where I introduced legislation to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic among African Americans.
During that time, I worked with early AIDS activists in the Black community to ensure that organizations serving African Americans living with HIV/AIDS would have funding. I especially enjoyed working with Archbishop Carl Bean, who founded the Minority AIDS Project in Los Angeles in 1985; Dr. Wilbert Jordan, who established the Oasis Clinic for AIDS patients in South Los Angeles; and Phil Wilson, who became an AIDS activist following his HIV diagnosis in the early 1980s and went on to establish the Black AIDS Institute.
As a member of Congress, I spearheaded the establishment of the Minority AIDS Initiative, which has significantly expanded HIV/AIDS prevention, screening and treatment efforts among racial and ethnic minorities and reduced AIDS disparities. I am proud to report that funding for this critical initiative has increased from the initial appropriation of $156 million in fiscal year 1999 to more than $400 million per year today.
While we have made progress, we must not forget the challenges we continue to face. Last year, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives proposed drastic cuts in HIV/AIDS funding. They proposed slashing $767 million from domestic HIV/AIDS programs in fiscal year 2024, including the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, and the Minority AIDS Initiative.
These cuts would have needlessly endangered our nation’s progress towards the eradication of HIV. That is why I circulated a letter to the House Appropriations Committee supporting robust funding for these domestic HIV/AIDS programs. My letter was signed by 60 members of Congress. Fortunately, we were successful in stopping these cuts and ensuring that these critical programs received as much funding in fiscal year 2024 as they did the previous year.
While we can only imagine the challenges we will face in the coming year with a new administration, we must continue to fight. We must rededicate ourselves to stopping the spread of this devastating disease, caring for those who are infected, and searching for a cure. We must never give up until we put an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic once and for all.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters represents California’s 43rd Congressional District, which includes most of South Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne and Gardena.
LIFTOUT
More than 700,000 people have died of AIDS in the United States since 1981, and there are now 62,800 people in Los Angeles County … who are living with HIV/AIDS.
