According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of African American women with HIV and AIDS has dramatically increased in the past few years. The rise in this disease among these women shows few signs of declining in the future.
In 1985, African American women comprised 7% of the AIDS population, whereas in 1997, they made up 22%. In 1997 CDC reports, women of color constituted 60% of AIDS cases among women.
A CDC study concluded that women currently make up a greater portion of HIV cases than AIDS cases. Researchers collected data from twenty-five states over a period of three years. During this period (1994-1997), women represented 17% of AIDS cases and 28% of HIV infections. Therefore, in the future, women will comprise a larger percentage of AIDS cases. In Washington DC and its suburbs, these statistics are even higher: 86% of women with AIDS are African Americans.
New, more powerful drugs have aided in decreasing the death rate of people with AIDS, but it remains the leading cause of death for both African American men and women between the ages of 25 and 44.
