HIV Infection Among Haitian College Students in the USA

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Name: Venessa Powell-Cooke
Course Title: Humanity 253
Date: November 22,2018
HIV infection among the Haitian college students in the USA
AIDS is described as a chronic condition which is caused by a virus known as human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The cure for HIV/AIDS have4 not been discovered, however,
there are medications which have the potential to slow as well as reduce the progress of the
condition. These medications have reduced deaths due to HIV/AIDS in many countries.
Nevertheless, HIV continues to increase in Haiti, Africa as well as parts of Asia. Empirical
studies have established that over 25 million people have died of HIV/AIDs related health
conditions in the whole world. For instance, according to the reports of UNAIDS, in 2009,
around 2.8 million individuals were newly infected with the condition while around three million
women, men, and children died of HIV/AIDS-related diseases. Currently, around 35 million
individuals are living with the HIV/AIDS. It is key to note that over 26 million individuals have
died due to HIV/AIDS-related illness since 1981 (UNAIDS/WHO). In Africa, there are over 15
million HIV/AIDS orphans. According to UNAIDS/WHO, in the transitional and developing
nations, over 10 million individuals are in dire need of HIV/AIDS drugs, with only 5 million
receiving such drugs. According to UNAIDS and the Population Reference Bureau, Haiti is the
Caribbean nation that is highly affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Dominic Republic as well as Haiti, together account for over three-quarters of
individuals having HIV in Latin America. High prevalence of HIV in Haiti has been attributed to
poverty as well as inadequate access to information and education. The groups who were at risk

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of contracting HIV before 1999s included the soldiers, truck drivers, and their respective partners
as well as people who migrated to the urban areas from the rural areas and the rape victims.
Currently, the epidemic is fueled and generalized by the high rates of illiteracy and endemic
poverty (Xu, and Lucy 10). In 2007, about 121000 individuals were living with HID/AIDS in
Haiti with 6800 being children and 58000 being women aged 15 years and above. According to
the Centers for Disease Control (2002), HIV risk infection among minority groups is one of the
serious challenges presently confronting public health in the USA.empirical studies have shown
that prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the youths is on the rise not only in the sub-Saharan Africa,
the Caribbean countries but also in the entire globe. However, there have been empirical research
studies conducted to investigate the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the Haitian youths
especially those living in the united states of America. In this paper, I will critically evaluate the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the Haitian youths. The study will use various literatures to
clearly examine the prevalence of the scourge among the Haitian youths living in the United
states of America.
HIV prevalence in Haiti in Latin America
HIV/AIDS prevalence among the Haitian in the united states of America
About 95 of the infected Haitians are children who are 14 years and below, and 74000 are
women. The number of individuals in 2005 who were living with HIV/AIDS was approximated
to be about 271600 which included over 11700 youths. It is estimated that approximately 33000
people die each year of HIV. The main routes of transmission for HIV include transmission
through mother and a child, sexual transmission, especially by heterosexual transmission.

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However, HIV has currently become feminine with the ratio of male to female shifting to 1:1
from 6:1 in 2002 and 1988 respectively. It should be noted that Haiti has the highest number of
HIV cases in Latin America.
Young people in the united states of America are at high risk of contracting HIV
(Interchange: HIV/AIDS and U.S. History). The HIV risk infection is most notable among the
youth coming from minority ethnicities and races. Therefore, continual prevention education and
outreach efforts for HIV including abstinence programs as well as initiation of sex restriction
should be introduced as old generations are replaced by the new generations who benefitted from
the prevention strategies. In numerous developing nations, most of the HIV infections happen
among individuals who are of the age between 16 and 24.
Moreover, having STDs have placed them at the risk of contracting HIV. Youths
especially college going students are a high risk of HIV infection because most of them are
normally sexually active as well as unmarried. High risk of HIV infection can also be attributed
to behavioral, psychological, social and biological reasons. Psychological factors enable many
youths at enhanced risks for STDs due to their overall sense of vulnerability, the urge to explore
new things, the willingness of taking risks involving changing of sexual partners as well as the
desire to impress their relatives and friends.
Most of the young people do not know that STDs result in behaviors of risk-taking. Thus,
it is very difficult for the youths especially the college going students to use condoms correctly
and consistently when engaging in sex. Moreover, inadequate communication, as well as
negotiations skills in youths to use condoms, is very difficult. Empirical research has shown that
Haitian college students are at risk of HIV infection especially through sexual transmission since

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almost all of them are sexually active (Rahill, Manisha, and Anthony 253). Present
epidemiological data shows that HIV/AIDS affects black Americans as well as the immigrant
black population in the country (Surkan et al. 810).
Moreover, officials from the federal government placed Haitian immigrants in solitary
risk category indicating that that Haitian had higher infection rates as compared to other groups.
More than two decades later, the National Academy of science publication stated that Haiti was
the probable conduit for HIV introduction to the United States of America.
Haitian youth represent one of the groups who are vulnerable to the HIV infection. Even
though the knowledge of HIV transmission is high among the college-going Haitian youths, the
change in behavior has lagged. For instance, epidemiological research has revealed that among
the Haitian college-going youths in the United States of America, HIV transmission is high
especially through sexual transmission. Sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS can be attributed to
the high rate of violence, the fact that almost every youth in the urban areas of the USA do not
live together with their biological parents, drug abuse challenges, inadequate access to health
care services as well as quality education and high rate of poverty levels among the Haitian
community. It is interesting to note that almost all the youths who are not enrolled in schools are
unemployed. Inadequate economic opportunities and the high rate of poverty will affect youths’
decision to have sex with numerous partners or to engage in a transaction or commercial sex.
Most of the Haitian college-going students in the united states of America engage in
transactional sex, forced into prostitution or run for survival or with gangs.
The cultural settings of Haiti