Broward County's Health Department recently unveiled a 66-page report that says new HIV infections are growing again among gay and bisexual men and remain high among African Americans.
From 1999 to 2004, new infections among gay or bisexual men jumped 94 percent, due largely to the combination of unsafe sex and "party drugs" such as crystal methamphetamine, said officials. About half of new infections were attributed to that mixture. An estimated one in five gay or bisexual men in Broward is HIV-positive, said the department.
Infection rates are stabilizing but high among African-American residents. One in 58 African Americans had HIV in 2005, compared with one in 207 whites and one in 216 Hispanics.
From Jan. 1, the county will have about $3.1 million for prevention programs, a $100,000 increase from this year due to private donations. With some state and federal resources being directed away from prevention and toward treatment and direct services, Broward County hopes it can persuade local city officials to fill in the prevention funding gap.
Broward's new report targets for prevention gay and bisexual men and African-American women over the next three years. In 2003, African-American gay and bisexual men and heterosexual women were targeted.
"We need to refocus on the groups where we see the risky behaviors," said George Castrataro, the department's assistant HIV/AIDS director and the report's co-author. "We're certainly underfunded in light of what we face," he said.
Among the report's recommendations are enlisting opinion leaders as peer prevention educators; holding small-group forums; and skills-building programs for runaway and homeless youths.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12.06.06):: Bob Lamendola
