A health care company called ViiV Healthcare, formed by the pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, said this week that it would launch a four-year $10 million initiative in Baltimore and Jackson, Miss., to increase access to HIV treatment and services among gay black men.
The cities were chosen because of their high rates of infection among gay black men, and the number of new cases in the community.
Through the new initiative, called ACCELERATE!, the company will seek to identify the gaps and barriers to care through partnerships with local academic institutions.
The company said national research shows 1 in 3 black men who have sex with men are HIV-positive, compared with less than 1 in 10 white men who have sex with men. At the same time, 24 percent of the black men continue care and 16 percent suppress their viral loads, while 43 percent of white men stay in care and 34 percent achieve viral suppression.
Once research is conducted, officials said they will develop an approach to tackle the problems in each city.