Most AIDS cases in Brazil are diagnosed in black people, says report – 10/23/2023 – Health

A study released by the Ministry of Health shows that more than 60% of AIDS-related deaths were identified in black and brown people.

Data from the epidemiological bulletin “Health of the Black Population” show that the percentage increased from 52.6% in 2011 to reach 60.5% in 2021, representing an increase of 8% over the historical period.

In relation to these deaths, it is observed that, among black people, the proportion of women is consistently higher than that of men throughout the entire period analyzed. On the other hand, in the case of brown deaths, as of 2018, the proportion of men exceeds that of women.

According to the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, the bulletin focusing on the black population stopped being published in 2015. The reintroduction of this study is extremely important for the advancement of public policies to combat racism, reduce inequalities and promote health in over the next few years.

The bulletin in question represents the initial milestone in the mandatory inclusion of information on race, color and ethnicity, as established by a law approved in 2017. In this sense, the health professional responsible for filling it out is obliged to record this data in the respective field of the form.

“The updated bulletin in a historical series exposes a reality that we say all the time in our speeches. Since 2015, the bulletin focused on the health of the black population has not been published,” he said.

The study also highlights the predominance of 67.6% of cases of pregnant women with HIV infection in black women in 2021, with 52.8% corresponding to brown women and 14.8% to black women. The largest proportion belongs to the age group of 15 to 29 years.

Ethel Maciel, Secretary of Health and Environmental Surveillance at the Ministry of Health, assessed that the data shows the need to increase the education and health part of schools.

The Ministry of Health also showed that there was a 5% increase in maternal deaths among black women due to hypertension from 2010 to 2020. Meanwhile, among indigenous, white and mixed-race women this percentage dropped.

“It is unacceptable to die from hypertension during pregnancy, something that we have several medications to control, we have how to manage it. We had a drop in all categories, but between 2010 and 2010 we had an increase of 5% among black women”, evaluated Maciel.

Maternal mortality from Covid-19 in black women represented 63.4% of cases. While in white women the percentage was 23.4%, in indigenous women, 10.3%. In yellow, the percentage was 30%.