CDC: HIV Rates In Atlanta Now Officially An Epidemic

Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday that Atlanta remains in an HIV/AIDS health crisis and ranks fourth in the nation for new HIV diagnoses, WSBTV reports.

In fact, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was so rampant, that in 2016 it was likened to a third world country.

“Downtown Atlanta is as bad as Zimbabwe or Harare or Durban [All in Africa],” Dr. Carlos del Rio, the co-director for the Emory Center for AIDS research, said in 2016.
At issue is the limited funding and that is part of what causes the epidemic continues to spread.

Thankfully Atlanta has superstar activists like Daniel Driffin who recently launched The Spot, a free, LGBTQ-friendly HIV testing site that will provide LGBTQ healthcare referrals and sexual health information.

“The SPOT was created to be a new solution of quality care for LGBTQIA folks who are not always comfortable at our traditional service providing agencies,” said Daniel Driffin,  HIV activist and co-founder of Thrive SS.