Chapter 8 -
HIV/AIDS in South Carolina: Our Day of Reckoning
-Dr. Bambi W. Gaddist
Dr. Bambi W. Gaddist, co-founder and Executive Director of the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council, addresses the devastating toll HIV/AIDS is taking on the African American community in the state. South Carolina is consistently among the top ten states with the most HIV/AIDS cases per 100,000 population. African Americans, although just one-third of the population, comprise more than two-thirds of persons in the state living with HIV/AIDS. The majority of new HIV/AIDS cases each year are African Americans, most of which are black males who are 25 years of age or older. Also discussed are risk behaviors as well as myths and cultural issues that contribute to the disproportionate number of HIV/AIDS cases in the African American community.
