In America, over 1 million people live with HIV.  Georgia in particular has been going through an HIV epidemic for quite some time. Since 2018, an HIV epidemic has been the status for Atlanta especially. In fact, according to Emory University, there are locations in the Atlanta area where the HIV rate is six-to-eight percent higher than other cities in the entire country.

As if being diagnosed with a life-altering virus isn’t enough, the virus comes partnered with a stigma. Many live under the impression that getting HIV means you must be promiscuous. Contrary to this, according to an article released by Emory, the biggest contributor to the epidemic is poverty rather than risky sexual practices. 

The poverty level in Atlanta has been increasing as more people move into the city, a common trend when bigger cities are upsizing. A Bloomberg report published in 2018 found that Atlanta is the city with the worst income inequality in the U.S. Also found in the report, the city’s poverty rate sits at 24%, nearly one-in-four. 

Even more problematic, the HIV rates are the highest in minority groups. Also stated from Emory, Black women are 15% more likely to contract HIV than White women, and HIV is the leading cause of death of Black men in Georgia between the ages of 35-44. HIV is stigmatized to be contracted from unsafe sex habits, but research shows that is not the case.