While in the United States, more than 23,500 people have died from Covid-19, African-Americans appear to be one of the categories of the population most affected by the new coronavirus. In some states, they are largely overrepresented among victims.

According to statistics provided by the Illinois public health agency, blacks account for 40% of deaths from Covid-19, while they are less than 15% of the population in this state. The same is true in Michigan and Louisiana, where 60% of the nearly 900 dead are African-Americans.

Only data from fifteen states have been released so far, but Donald Trump has recognized racial disparities among victims of the Covid-19. "There is a real problem and it appears very strongly in our data on the African-American community," said the American president on April 7. We are doing everything in our power to meet this challenge, it is a huge This is a terrible challenge and we have to provide support to the African American citizens of this country who are going through this period. It is disproportionate, they are very, very badly affected. "

Social and health inequalities

But how can we explain this high proportion of deaths among African-Americans? Sociologists and doctors agree that the black population in the United States faces social and health inequalities that make them more vulnerable to the pandemic than the white population.

"There are first of all health characteristics, linked to the health in general, of this population which has a higher mortality rate, explains Pap Ndiaye, teacher at Sciences Po Paris, specialist in the social history of "The rate of diabetes in particular, the rate of cardiovascular disease, obesity too, these are factors that make this population in poorer general health."

However, people with comorbidities are very often those found in intensive care and therefore those who are most likely to die.

"This poorer health, it is linked - this is the second aspect - to social conditions, to more difficult living conditions, says the professor. We will also add the fact that jobs - it is linked to the situation social - they are often frontline jobs in a way. Delivery jobs, jobs that cannot benefit from telework and so they are more vulnerable to the spread of this virus. And finally, the third factor, it is health insurance. Indeed, the African-American population is less well insured than the rest of the population in spite of the Obamacare law, which was able to insure twenty million Americans who were not before 2014. But there is still a significant part of the poor population, be it the African-American population, the Hispanic population but also the Amerindian population on the reserves of the western United States in who do not have health insurance. "

Transparency on figures

In a letter to the United States 'Minister of Health, the minority organization Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law urges the federal health authorities to promptly publish ethnic and racial data on Covid-19 screening and prevalence of all American states. Objective: to give African Americans better access to healthcare and better respond to the pandemic across the country.

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR