Atlanta has the third highest number of new HIV infections nationwide

reported that the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed a disturbing reality about the incidence HIV infections in the Southeast, with metro Atlanta standing out as a central point of interest. According to the CDC, Metro Atlanta secured the unenviable third position, behind Memphis and Miami, for the most new HIV cases reported in 2021 (over 1,500 documented cases).

Jeff Cheek, Fulton County’s director of HIV elimination, emphasized the seriousness of the situation, emphasizing, “We have seen HIV infections rising in the South, and Atlanta’s infection rates are among the highest in the South.”

In Georgia alone, new cases accounted for greater than half of the 2,371 reported cases in 2021. Cheek highlighted persistent challenges related to HIV-related stigma and barriers to accessing appropriate health care as major contributing aspects to those alarming statistics.

Larry Scott-Walker, co-founder of Thrive Atlanta, expressed each dismay and determination in response to the CDC’s findings. “I’m annoyed by it, saddened, but also motivated… my work is fueled by it,” he said.

Scott-Walker, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2007, co-founded Thrive Atlanta, whose mission was to satisfy the needs of HIV-positive patients, especially in regions like Georgia where access to resources is restricted.

“We wanted to do something that centered Black culture, that centered Black queer men… raising the undetection rate in our communities… having conversations with friends that reduce stigma,” Scott-Walker said.

How BLACK ENTERPRISES as reported in December 2023, recent revelations from a Center for Immigration Studies interview with Richard Lee, a retired DHS arbitrator, make clear troubling federal privacy policies followed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials. Lee’s accounts suggest that such policies could have endangered the health of many African American women and kids on account of marriages to African men who hid their HIV-positive status.

According to Lee, DHS prioritized the privacy of HIV-positive male immigrants over the health of their African-American spouses and potential offspring. Lee stated, “DHS has ruled that privacy is considered more important than the health of the individual woman, usually a black U.S. citizen, any children born to the couple, and, by extension, the public health of Americans generally.”

From 2003 to 2008, immigrants searching for entry to the U.S. were required to supply proof of a negative HIV test, with a positive result potentially barring entry. Lee noted, nevertheless, that many candidates have effectively waived their HIV status. Lee revealed that DHS officers were prohibited from disclosing her husband’s health condition to his wife, although they knew about it.