Health
Increasing prejudice against Pensacola and HIV-AIDS in northwestern Florida
“HIV lives with me, not with HIV,” said Saul Villa Lobos.
Villa Lobos, a Venezuelan immigrant and case manager at Oasis Florida, an HIV testing center and care facility in Pensacola, still remembers the day she was diagnosed five years ago.
At midnight on August 2, 2016, he sat with his doctor at the IDET Clinic in Barquisimeto, where four imminent words of ruin were spoken before him.
By explaining that “the world will stop completely,” Villa Lobos knew from that moment that the entire course of his life was about to change. Talking to his family was horrifying, and the state of political corruption that existed in the Venezuelan government left no room for discussion about HIV / AIDS, despite proper dosing and treatment.
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HIV is a virus that can lead to AIDS. AIDS is a late stage of HIV infection that occurs when the virus severely damages the body’s immune system.
The 40-year mark of the first report of the HIV pandemic and AIDS fell on June 5. Today, there are a variety of prophylactic options, including treatments, easily accessible tests, services, programs, and pre-exposure prophylaxis for PrEP.
HIV affects about 37 million people worldwide at the young age of 13, of which 22 million are being treated.
Villalobos learned to live, not just survive, as one of those statistics.
But Kurt Goodman, executive director of Oasis Florida, said the only problem that hasn’t changed in the last 40 years is that the numbers are steadily rising and falling. The stigma surrounding AIDS, especially Pensacola.
It drives people to avoid testing and treatment altogether. For years, clients have been hanging around the back door of OASIS to keep it out of sight, but once treated, they refuse to adjust their lives or take medications and hesitate. This is the “sad” and “embarrassing” reality of harsh pills. swallow.
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While the stereotype “gay disease” surrounds the topic of AIDS today, Goodman argues and encourages everyone to better educate the numbers that are prevalent in the heterosexual community. I am.
“43% In Escanbia, a new HIV infection was heterosexual Due to ignorance and the highly conservative region of northwestern Florida, that percentage is rising each year. The new HIV prevalence is clearly a concern. Because I want to see a big drop, “Goodman said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one million people are still dying of HIV because they are unaware that they are infected with HIV, are not receiving treatment, or are late in starting treatment. I will.
Between 2017 and 2019, 2,133 people died of HIV in Florida, of which 38 died in Escambia County, 7 in Santa Rosa, and 3 in Walton and Okaloosa County.
The number of new AIDS cases and mortality rates are constant each year. Last year, 16 people died from AIDS-related complications in northwestern Florida, Goodman said.
“If you take care of us, there are 16 people who didn’t die. AIDS develops and dies because they can’t get treatment. How good is HIV treatment today? I can’t overemphasize it. With treatment, I’ve moved from a death sentence to a manageable chronic illness, “says Goodman.
In 2020, OASIS provided 15,437 units of medical, medication, dental, mental health, housing, food and other social services to 8,841 clients free of charge.
Alexys Hillman, a family doctor at Pensacola Osteopaths, said that earthquake-induced cultural change is needed in northwestern Florida and should have happened years ago.
Hillman said one day in the future, the “bootstrap idea” of having a happy ending with the HIV / AIDS epidemic needs to be put to an end. She strives to remind people that living with illness is not their fault and should not be judged or blamed.
“No one thinks that HIV is something you need to worry about or think about. This further deepens the stigma surrounding the disease. Invest enough time and money We need more preventive care because we don’t, “Hillman said.
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Last year, new HIV infections fell by 6% in northwestern Florida. This is a step in the right direction. However, in big cities like San Francisco, the 2019 Annual Report on HIV shows a milestone with new HIV diagnoses down 19% from 204 in 2018 to 166 in 2019. Has reached.
“Our trend should be down by double digits. These cities have great programs in place, and the public and the media are pushing them back and spreading their message, so new HIV It essentially eliminates the infection, “says Goodman.
Nevertheless, Florida has the third highest HIV diagnosis rate after the District of Columbia and Georgia, with a total of approximately 23.9 HIV diagnoses per 100,000 population in 2019.
Both Goodman and Hillman have broken away from critical thinking about sex, emphasizing the need for sex education, safe sex, and regular examinations.
However, according to the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019 the black community increased the number of HIV infection diagnoses nationwide by 42.1 per 100,000, and the number of Hispanic and Latin people increased by 21.7 per 100,000. , HIV continues to have an imbalanced impact on certain populations, especially racial and ethnic minorities. Prevention.
According to a new study by the Florida Oasis, Goodman said that 1 in 292 white adults, 1 in 156 Hispanic adults, and 1 in 49 black adults in Florida are infected with HIV.
“These numbers pierce me clearly as a kind of alarm, especially here in the heterosexual community of Pensacola, and it really affects everyone,” Goodman said.
Hillman believes that HIV awareness is not strong enough, especially in northwestern Florida, due to continued prejudice against LGBTQ communities and people of color.
“There are active organizations like OASIS Florida that can put an end to the HIV epidemic in northwestern Florida. They do a really great job, but few people know it. It’s time to stop making decisions and start with education, “Hillman said.
Villa Lobos emphasized that there is prejudice not only in the Pensacola community, but around the world where HIV is a decisively neglected issue.
“The conservative Catholic way of thinking doesn’t want to talk much about HIV. My sister, a neurologist, was one of the people who taught me about it on a personal level, but the education was government and public health. The system is not trying to speak frankly, “said Villa Lobos.
But at worst, Villa Lobos arrived in the United States in search of a better life. Villa Lobos’s once undoubtedly denied illness has become an integral part of his life.
“I’m now a model for HIV / AIDS prevention in the Pensacola community, which means that HIV has saved my life,” said Villalovos.
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