Shunned by the tribe: HIV/AIDS among American Indians and Alaska Natives
12 Dec 2013 - When Isadore Boni was diagnosed with HIV, he was a 35-year-old social worker living and working on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona. A full-blooded Apache, Isadore was shunned by his tribe because of his HIV status. He slept on the streets of Phoenix for two years as he struggled to cope with his illness and the stigma associated with being HIV-positive.
He's just one example of how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has hit American Indians and Alaska Natives harder than other groups in the U.S. Native populations have higher rates of HIV/AIDS compared with white Americans. But stigma and a small population size contribute to a culture of silence. Missing data on the actual number of American Indians and Alaska natives living with HIV/AIDS adds to the problem.
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Read full article : Thomson Reuters Foundation
http://www.trust.org/item/20131212050338-b72c9/?source=hpblogs
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