By 2020, 70% of Those Living With HIV Will be 50 or Older
Did you know that 50% of those living with HIV are age 50 or older? By 2020, that number will grow to 70%. The latest national data show that adults 50 and older account for 17% of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses and 29% of all persons living with AIDS. Research also finds that over 50% of adults age 65-74 and 26% of age 75-85 are sexually active with more than one partner. But ageist misconceptions, combined with poor sexual health education, contribute to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in elders and stall prevention efforts.
On this World AIDS Day, and every day, SAGE is committed to providing services and support to our elders living with HIV/AIDS, working with our partners to promote policy changes on the national level, as well as continuing to educate the public on the issues surrounding HIV and aging.
One major announcement that hits close to SAGE’s main office in New York City is Governor Cuomo seeking an additional $200 million dollars in New York state funding to help those with HIV/AIDS, SAGE hopes that Cuomo achieves his goal of eradicating HIV/AIDS in New York by 2020 and applauds his request for additional funding.
In other national news, the University of California San Francisco is set to receive a $20 million grant to find a cure for AIDS over the next five years. It’s part of a $100 million effort by the American Foundation for AIDS Research or amfAR, to fund the most promising research that could lead to curing AIDS. SAGE Center Harlem Community Liaison and star of Before You Know It Ty Martin states “Who would imagine that 35 years later that there would be a cure on the horizon? For our LGBTQ+ elders who lived through the epidemic to even conceive that such a day would come is amazing.”
SAGE Care Manager Bill Mendez also shares his message on World AIDS Day in a video he shot for YouTube. Bill currently runs an HIV support group and was instrumental in starting a group for long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS at SAGE.
