This Friday, December 1st is World AIDS Day. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for one of the deadliest epidemics in human history. Minnesota has lost approximately 2,772 people to the disease, in the United States an estimated 529,113 have died, and worldwide about 25 million people have lost their lives to HIV, a staggering number on par with the black plague of medieval Europe.

Minnesota has faired better than most states in preventing the epidemic and caring for those affected. Despite the large urban area of the Twin Cities, Minnesota is known as a low incidence state. We are 38th of 50 states based on infections per 100,000 population. Approximately 5,233 people in Minnesota are currently living with an HIV positive diagnosis, and around 300 people are newly diagnosed each year. Estimates predict that about a fourth as many people do not know they are infected, or about 75 people per year in Minnesota.

Minnesota is also home to the international epidemic. The United States has strict laws about immigration for people who are HIV positive, but Minneapolis is one of only 6 cities nationwide that is allowed by the Federal government to resettle HIV positive refugees and asylum seekers, mainly because of a strong nonprofit community dedicated to immigrants and refugees, along side a strong research and nonprofit sector for care and support for people living with HIV. Minnesota is among the best positioned to take in those who suffer persecution in their home countries because of their HIV status.

The Minnesota Department of Health has an extensive list of World AIDS Day events in Minnesota from Minneapolis to Rochester to Alexandria to Duluth. As we think of others during the holiday season, please consider contributing to one of the charities hosting a World AIDS Day event, and make the fight to stop AIDS a priority in Minnesota by contacting your legislators.

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