A Look at Hawaii's Meth and HIV Epidemic — Kekoa Kealoha

Kekoa Kealoha is the PrEP Navigator at the Hawai'i Island HIV/AIDs Foundation and a recovering meth addict. Although Hawai'i is considered a low HIV incident state, there is still an epidemic going on that is fueled further by the meth problem in Hawai'i. An estimate showed that 6 out of 10 people in the Hawai'ian state hospital have experienced meth. Kekoa shares some of his insights as to what is going on in his community and the work that he is doing to create more awareness and best practices.

TAKEAWAYS:

[1:40] What does Kekoa do as a PrEP navigator?

[4:25] Hawai'i is considered to be a low HIV incident state. However, on Kekoa's island, there are between 8-12 people that contract HIV every year. The capital, Honolulu, has about 30-60 cases per year.

[5:20] Unfortunately, the meth epidemic fuels the HIV epidemic. It affects the entire community, not just the gay male community.

[7:50] Meth has become a criminal justice problem vs. a public health problem.

[10:05] The native Hawai'ian pacific islander population is the most likely to be diagnosed with late-stage HIV or AIDs. The state is missing their mark on early prevention and education for diseases not just with HIV, but with heart disease, diabetes, and more.

[14:45] Kekoa and his team are working with Hawai'i to Zero (h20), which is an initiative to end the stigma of HIV, to test and diagnose, and have no HIV-related deaths.

[16:35] The meth source is coming from both Mexico, Asia, and homemade on the island.

[21:00] What worries Kekoa the most about his community?

[22:30] What gives Kekoa hope?

RESOURCES:

Hihaf.org

Negativemovement.org

Email Kekoa: Contact@NegativeMovement.org

Health.hawaii.gov

QUOTES:

• "6 out of 10 people in the Hawaiian state hospital have experienced meth."
• "The community seems content in keeping the meth epidemic a criminal justice problem and not a public health problem."
• "Hawai'i has the lowest rate of HIV transmission through injection-drug use and we also have the oldest state-wide needle exchange program in the country."
• "What gives me hope is working with younger generations because they don't have the same stigma attached to HIV. When I give education to young people, it's a clean slate with them."