Washington, DC has the highest rate of new AIDS cases per 100,000 population in the United States—a rate that is 11 times higher than the national average. The DC HIV/AIDS Administration reports that there is an estimated range of 14,950 to 20,700 people 13 and older infected with HIV, about one in every 20 adults in the District is infected, and 79% of all HIV/AIDS cases are among African Americans. Additionally, women are among the fastest growing populations in new AIDS cases in the District.  Although African American/Blacks account for nearly 60% of the District of Columbia population, African American/Black women comprise 92% of new AIDS cases among women. African Americans make up 57.2% of DC’s population; the majority of which reside in wards 5-8 of Southeast DC.  These communities are relatively isolated from the DC downtown business district and have yet to benefit from recent economic and structural development experienced by much of Washington in the last decade.         

East of the Anacostia River, particularly Ward 7 represents an area where access to health care, services and/or health education is extremely limited due to health care, economic, socio-cultural, psychological, religious and community barriers. Research continues to show that poverty, incarceration, low educational attainment, limited access to health care and high unemployment rates are all associated with higher rates of HIV/AIDS. 

Combined, Wards 7 and 8 have the highest rates of teen pregnancy, unemployment, rates of recidivism, persons living below the poverty level, and households headed by single women in the District of Columbia. Demographic data and social characteristics describing residents in the District of Columbia reflect two populations with contrasting social status and experiences. Descriptions of Ward 7 portrays a region containing 20% of the city’s residents plagued by high rates of school dropouts, single parenthood, unemployment, and crime.  Over half of all adults in Ward 7 have never been married or are currently separated, and married families in Ward 7 account for less than 30% of the population. Single, female-headed households represent the majority of the Ward’s families. Poverty, low skill levels and insufficient educational achievement adversely impact one-third of all residents. The majority of people in Ward 7 live in rental units and the area’s median income is $30,533--less than half the median income level in Georgetown. The area’s unemployment rate is three times the regional rate, and is home to the exploding rate of residents incarcerated or murdered. 

Of the new HIV infections among adults and adolescents in the District, 12.2% occurred among individuals living in Ward 7. Of the new AIDS infections, 15.4% of them in Ward 7.  Of all newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Ward 7, 95% were black while Hispanics and Whites each accounted for only 2% in the Ward. In Ward 7, the greatest proportion of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases were attributed to heterosexual contact (35%), injection drug use (IDU) at 22% and men who have sex with men (MSM) at 20%. Late HIV testing refers to having a diagnosis of AIDS within 12 months of an initial positive HIV test. Late testers are people who did not get tested and diagnosed early on and/or did not receive adequate care and treatment for HIV. The proportion of late testers in Ward 7 is 62%.