Why HIV/AIDS is common in African American community?

HIV/AIDS in African American

Many reasons, cultural, social, poverty, etc. Also i honestly think it might have some kind of relationship to genetics, because in other countries too, blacks have been more affected that any other group. For example in Honduras, the garifunda population, who are the blacks there have 10 times higher HIV rates than the rest of the populations. One see similar trends in other places like Brazil, Colombia, and even in Africa in places with Arabs and blacks like Libya or Egypt one see similar trends.

It isn't. It's more common amongst caucasians in the United States. Not only do I see that in my professional practice, it's backed up by data from the state department of health. Not being a wee bit racist, are we?

It is true it seems to be more common in African Americans than in any other racial group, whites, latinos, or asians. Was it Al Sharpton who said "AIDS is a black disease"?

Any answer to this, to some, may be deemed racist. I'd just like to point out before I say this that I am not a racist, I am basing this in my experiences in East St.Louis and Oakland.

Now to the answer:
Firstly, take a look at economic factors: African Americans of middle class or higher are FAR less likely to get AIDS, the same as white people. But as a percentage of the racial group, there are more impoverished African Americans than Caucasian Americans.

Hence it sort of boils down to economics: the wealthier you are, it seems, the less likely the odds are you will get AIDS.

However, poor people, blacks and whites together, get AIDS far more often than middle class or better people.

So hence if the porportion of black people in poverty is higher than the portion of white people in poverty, as a percentage of the group, African Americans would, statistically speaking, more often get AIDS.

the actual REASON for poor people getting AIDS crosses racial boundries: poor use of fiscal resources.

In East St.Louis, strip clubs are, at least when I was there a few years ago, EXTREMELY common. And on the side of town I saw, so were prostitutes. Poor men without the normal social resources and supporting fiscal resources are more likely to use a prostitute to satisfy sexual needs than richer people, who can play the game of dating, bar hopping, the like. Thats just off the top of my head even.

Hence, poor African American men will, like poor white men, probably be using prostitutes and such more often, which helps spread the disease. Also, due to their poverty, its likely that there is no availability of medication that could defeat AIDS in its early stages, although I am not sure if such drugs are covered by Medicare or not (more than half of Americans are covered by Medicare).

So its a combination of economic and social factors. Simply put if African Americans were wealthier, then there would be less recourse for engaging in activities that are harmful.