By Sara Chute

According to the UNAIDS/WHO December 2009 report, there were an estimated 33.4 million adults and children living with HIV and AIDS worldwide at the end of 2008:
• 22.4 million, or 67 percent, live in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Sixty percent of these African cases are women;
• An estimated 1.9 million people were newly infected with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2008; and
• Nine countries in Southern Africa continue to share a disproportionate burden of the global AIDS epidemic, with adult HIV prevalence greater than 10 percent in each of those countries.

The increasing number of Sub-Saharan refugees and immigrants resettling in Minnesota is only one factor that explains the growing rates of HIV/AIDS in Minnesota’s African-born community.  In Africa as in the US, those who are at highest risk are often those with limited access to resources and education.  Much can be done to combat the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS by enhancing support for education and prevention and by improving care for those affected by this disease. 

In Minnesota.  While the African- born population in Minnesota accounts for only one percent of the total population, the MN Department of Health estimated that African-born persons accounted for 11 percent of all new HIV/AIDS cases during 2009.

By country of origin.  As of December 31, 2009, an estimated 831 African-born people were living with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota.  This number includes some people who were tested and diagnosed with HIV or AIDS before arriving in the US, but the majority of case were tested and diagnosed after arrival to the US.  According to the MN Department of Health 2009 statistics, of the African-born persons living with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota, 47 percent are living with AIDS (and 53% with HIV).  

To learn more about the difference between HIV infection and AIDS go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/aidsfacts.html.   

By country of origin, of the 831 African-born cases in Minnesota:
• 199 (24%) people were from Ethiopia
• 114 (14%) people were from Kenya
• 113 (14%) people were from Liberia
• 72 (9%) people were from Cameroon
• 69 (8%) people were from Somalia
• 57 (7%) people were from Sudan
• The remaining 207 (25%) were from a variety of other African nations.

It is important to note that the numbers represented here are based upon people who have been tested for HIV infection; such numbers could be higher if African-born people were tested regularly.
Gender and Age.  In 2009, 54 percent of the new HIV infections among African-born persons were women and 46 percent were men.  In non-African born Minnesotans, women accounted for only 16 percent of new infections.  

Of the estimated 831 African-born people living with HIV or AIDS in Minnesota:
• An estimated 90 percent of affected African-born persons contracted the virus through heterosexual intercourse, or sex between a male and female; and
• Between 2007 and 2009, the average age at HIV diagnosis among the African-born population was 34 years old for women and 38 years old for men.

Many African and other community organizations are seeking to address this serious issue through prevention, education and treatment efforts.  Everyone can make a difference and be a leader in addressing HIV/AIDS by educating ourselves and others about this disease.  

What can you do to help reduce the spread of the virus? 
• Know your status: Get tested regularly if you are sexually active;
• Protect yourself: Use condoms; abstain from sex and/or sharing needles; and educate yourself about HIV/AIDS;
• Be honest with your partner if you have HIV or AIDS, and get support;
• Go to www.health.state.mn.us/hiv or www.unaids.org to learn more about HIV/AIDS.

Where can you go to get tested for HIV?
• Hennepin County Public Health Clinic: 525 Portland Ave South, Mpls, MN 55415, Tel: 612-348-6363;
• Crown Medical Center (Dr. Joyce Onyekaba): 1931/1925 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55403, Tel: 612-871-4354;
• Room 111: 555 Cedar St, St. Paul, MN 55101, Tel: 651-266-1352.
Where can you go for referral and support services?
• MN AIDS Project: 1400 Park Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404, Hotline Tel: 612-373-AIDS (metro);
• Zyombi International: 310 East 38th Street, Suite 228, Mpls, MN 55408, Tel: 612-229–2679;
• Oromo Community, Inc.: 420 15th Avenue South, Mpls, MN 55454, Tel: (612) 338 – 5282;
• Sub-Saharan African Youth and Family Services of MN (St. Paul): Tel: 651-644-3983;
• Pan-African Community Organization (Mpls): Tel: 612-338-1778.

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This article was contributed by Sara Chute from the Refugee Health Program at the Minnesota Department of Health.  Special thanks to Luisa Pessoa-Brandão from the HIV-STD Unit at MDH for the statistics from the MN HIV/AIDS Surveillance System, along with the graph “HIV Infections Among African-born by Year of Diagnosis, 1990-2006.”

  Photo courtesy of MDH from African World AIDS Day, 2005.