Soulclap to Daryl C. Hannah (DiversityInc.com) for writing on a topic that is rarely discussed in polite company within the African American community. Sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS are issues that our women and girls need to focus on more in 2009 and beyond.While Blacks only make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for about 70 percent of gonorrhea cases and almost half of all Chlamydia and syphilis cases in 2007, according to an annual Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. Even more alarming are the statistics surrounding Black teenage women, a demographic that now represents the highest rates of both Chlamydia and gonorrhea of any group.
The report, the " Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance, 2007," showed that of the 1.1 million Chlamydia cases reported in 2007, infection rates among women were three times that of men and Black women, ages 15 to 19, accounting for 9,646 per 100,000 people. Gonorrhea rates, also higher among women, were flat when comparing 2006 to 2007 but were very high for Black teenage women, at 2,956 per 100,000 people.
"The racial disparities in rates of STDs are among the worst health disparities in the nation for any condition," says Dr. John M. Douglass Jr., director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. "The widespread occurrence of these diseases should serve as a stark reminder that STDs remain a serious health threat in the United States, especially for women and racial and ethnic minorities."
The study also highlighted the health disparities associated with socioeconomic status, which limits many Black Americans' access to quality healthcare, forcing them to forgo much-needed treatment--a move that often leads to infertility.
"We must intensify effort to reach these communities with needed screening and treatment services," the study reveals. "Testing and the knowledge of infection is a critical first step toward reducing the continued consequences of these diseases."
"Left untreated, Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause infertility, affecting a woman's chance to bear children later in life," Douglass says. "Such a severe consequence is entirely avoidable if as a nation we work together to increase the use of proven prevention tools and make them widely available to those who need them."
"The racial disparities in rates of STDs are among the worst health disparities in the nation for any condition," says Dr. John M. Douglass Jr., director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. "The widespread occurrence of these diseases should serve as a stark reminder that STDs remain a serious health threat in the United States, especially for women and racial and ethnic minorities."
The study also highlighted the health disparities associated with socioeconomic status, which limits many Black Americans' access to quality healthcare, forcing them to forgo much-needed treatment--a move that often leads to infertility.
"We must intensify effort to reach these communities with needed screening and treatment services," the study reveals. "Testing and the knowledge of infection is a critical first step toward reducing the continued consequences of these diseases."
"Left untreated, Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause infertility, affecting a woman's chance to bear children later in life," Douglass says. "Such a severe consequence is entirely avoidable if as a nation we work together to increase the use of proven prevention tools and make them widely available to those who need them."
I encourage all villagers to share information about the upcoming National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Those of you in the greater Cincinnati area should make plans to attend an Awareness Day event called, Healthy Relationships for Mothers, Daughters and Grandmothers, Too!
