World Aids Day: the Impact HIV/AIDS has had on Families wellbeing and access to housing

World Aids Day: The Impact HIV/AIDS

has had on Families wellbeing and access to housing

Every year on December 1, we join the world in celebrating World’s Aids Day. It is a day that we create awareness on HIV/AIDS and show support for those living with HIV. It is a time that we remember those that died from HIV-related illness, taking time to destigmatize HIV.

The theme for the 2021 observance is “Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice.” It was first observed in 1988. Every year, organizations and individuals worldwide bring attention to the HIV epidemic, endeavor to increase HIV awareness and knowledge, speak out against HIV stigma, and call for an increased response to end the epidemic globally.

In 2020, there were almost 37.6 million people across the globe with HIV. The infection is greater in adults than children; 35.9 million and 1.7 million, respectively. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 1.5 million people tested positive for HIV.

(New HIV infections), a 30 percent decrease in new infections since 2010. Of these new infections, 1.3 million were among adults, and 160,00 were among children under 15 years. Since the start of the global epidemic, 79.3 million people have been infected with HIV. Conversely, 36.3 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the beginning of the epidemic. Women and girls account for most HIV infections, with 53 percent of all infections in 2020 being women.

By the end of 2020, an estimated 680,000

people died from HIV-related illnesses, with data showing that the deaths in 2020 represented a 64 percent decrease from the peak in 2004 and 47 percent fewer than 2010. That being so despite exponential growth in population in high burdened areas. In general AIDS-related mortality has declined by 53 percent among women and girls and by 41 percent among men and boys since 2010.

At the end of December 2020, 27.5 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy, a rise from 2010 where only 7.8 million people accessed the drug. Of the 27.5 million people, 74 percent were adults older than 15 years, and 79 percent were women.

And though we had come a long way from when the epidemic began, we are still facing challenges that we faced decades ago. People living with HIV (PLWH) face stigma, housing, not being able to access the correct services they need, and so much more.

The links between impoverished housing conditions and HIV and AIDS are numerous and complex when it comes to housing. Characteristics of impoverished housing conditions such as overcrowding, tenure insecurity, inadequate water, sanitation, and basic services intensify the impact of HIV and AIDS. Homeless people and those living in marginal conditions have an elevated HIV burden. As a matter of fact, even with the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), people living with HIV from these areas have no access to it or have suboptimal treatment.

Households led by women suffer disproportionately from housingrelated vulnerability. And not forgetting that the HIV epidemic worst hits women, and when gender dynamics are taken into account, it is easier for women to lose their homes than men.

According to HIV.gov, stable housing is closely linked to successful HIV outcomes. With safe, decent, and affordable housing, PLWH has better access to medical care and supportive services and are more likely to get on HIV treatment and take their drugs more consistently.

Unfortunately, people worldwide with HIV risk losing their homes due to factors such as stigma and discrimination increased medical costs and limited incomes, or reduced ability to keep working due to HIV- related illnesses.

The U.S. department’s (HUD) Office of HIV/AIDS Housing is helping take care of the housing needs of low-income people living with HIV and their families. Under the Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids (HOPWA) Program, HUD grants local communities, states, and nonprofit organizations for projects that benefit low-income people living with HIV and their families.

The program provides PLWH with short-term and long-term rental assistance. HOPWA also operates community residences and creates other supportive facilities to address the needs of people living with HIV.

ABOUT THE POWER IS NOW MEDIA

The Power Is Now Media is an online multimedia company founded in 2009 by Eric L. Frazier, MBA, headquartered in Riverside, California. We advocate for homeownership, wealth building, and financial literacy for low to moderate-income and minority communities. The Power Is Now Media corporate office is located at 3739 6th Street Riverside, CA 92501. Ph: 800-401-8994 Website: www.thepowerisnow.com

Eric Lawrence Frazier, MBA. President and Founder, The Power Is Now Media

Work Cited

https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/data-and-trends/statistics http://www.icad-cisd.com/pdf/Housing_Fact_Sheet_Final_EN.pdf https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/living-well-with-hiv/taking-care-of-yourself/housing-and-health https://www.hiv.gov/events/awareness-days/world-aids-day https://www.unaids.org/en/2021-world-aids-day https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4695926/

HOME OWNERSHIP

by Eric Lawrence Frazier MBA

Home ownership brings stability to individuals and families who have never had a dwelling place that they could call their own. There is something special about owning real estate that is unlike anything else on earth you can own.

Real Estate you own is not like cars that decay over time and you have to replace them. Real Estate you own is not like clothes that go out of style and you have to buy new ones. Real Estate you own is not like expensive vacations or experiences that only last a moment in time. Real Estate you own is not like an apartment where the landlord may increase the rent until it’s no longer affordable. Real Estate you own is not like staying at your parents house where you know can’t stay forever.

Home ownership is the beginning of wealth that increases over time and becomes your estate & legacy Home ownership is the pride of a mother nurturer and the kitchen her domain Home ownership is the pride of a father provider and protector of his territory and family. Home ownership is the foundation of permanence and the place where life happens, birthdays celebrated, deaths mourned.

Home ownership is the place you build memories that can never be taken from you. Memories etched in walls and concrete, experienced in rooms and floors, Memories living in trees and shrubs planted by your hand. Howe ownership is the manifestation of you - your style, your colors, your smell, your stuff, your junk, your memories, your yard and your spaces, your life.

It’s the height markers on your first child’s bedroom wall. It’s the hearts drawn in the concrete slabs when you pour your patio floor It’s the birthday parties, and anniversaries in the living room and kitchen. It’s the back yard barbecue with friends, neighbors and family contentions it’s the high school and college graduation, and wedding receptions Its’ the family nights and block parties and the fellowship of family connections

Home ownership

It’s more than real estate. Land, brick and mortar, wood frame construction and chicken wire. It’s more than money saved, gifts recieved and grants obtained It’s more than the debt you incur to buy it. It’s more than the payments you make to own it. It’s more than the appreciation that comes with keeping it over time. It’s memories, it’s family, and it’s life that can happen in one place Until you say it’s time to move.