HIV/AIDS AND AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENS

The HIV/Aids epidemic has taken the world by storm. Every year millions of new cases are reported and thus causing a world wide scare. Although people of every ethnicity has been infected, African Americans has accounted for over half of the cases. Today, one in fifty African American males and one in 160 African American females is infected with HIV. This maybe a surprise for some but others think that this was predicted. Due to the lack of father figures, sex education and awareness and healthcare, African American youth are ignorant to the world of sex and diseases. They are brought up in neighborhoods where there are few role models that will direct them into right paths thus following what they see. This mindset has led many young people to have sex without the knowledge of the consequences that may occur because of their actions.

Many young African American males and females lack father figures. Thus they crave to fulfill that void in their lives. Single women raising young males can cause them to become feminine. Later in their lives some become homosexuals due to the lack of guidance of a man growing up. African American homosexuals are at an even higher risk of infection. According to CDC’s HIV/AIDS Reporting System 2005, African American homosexuals make up 48% of blacks males with aids. The females who lack father figures try to fill that void by having sex with numerous partners. According to CDC’s HIV/AIDS Reporting System 2005, African American females make up 64% of all female HIV/AIDS cases.

Unlike many “white schools”, many young African Americans do not have privileged backgrounds nor do they go to “good schools”. Most neighborhood schools lack the funds to provide books better yet sex education classes. Therefore many young black females and males have no clue of the dangerous things that can affect them and their partners such as drugs, unprotected sex, std’s and sti’s and pregnancies. If we could find a way to provide the education for our black youth, their will be a dramatic decrease in new African American cases each year.

Healthcare is a huge aspect of HIV/AIDS cases among African Americans. The inability to pay for healthcare causes many blacks to go on through life without knowing that their ill. Many African Americans do not even go to the doctor because they cannot afford the expense. Many individuals have spontaneous unprotected sex with numerous partners, not knowing they are infected. This ignorance is then spread amongst others who in turn have sex with their partners and the cycle continues. Healthcare should become assessable to all people, whether they have the funds or not. It will cost more in the long run for medicines to prolong your life with aids than to provide everyone with HIV/AIDS test.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is becoming an unstoppable force. Unless changes occur within each household, school and government system this epidemic will not stop. We need more families and role models to teach the youth the right way to have sex and to encourage them to protect themselves in every way possible. Schools should provide sex education classes so that if and when the students decide to have sex they will already know the consequences and things to expect afterwards. The government needs to provide health insurance to every household to help prevent infections. If everyone come together we can stop this epidemic one case at a time.