National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is Wednesday, February 7. This year’s observance is an opportunity to increase awareness and spark conversations about HIV. This year’s theme is “Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities.”

  • Engage: Discussing ways to better involve the Black community in HIV prevention and treatment efforts. This can include outreach programs, community partnerships, and partnering with local leaders and influencers to promote HIV testing and destigmatize the conversation around HIV/AIDS.

  • Educate: Focusing on improving HIV/AIDS education among Black youth and adults. This could cover the latest research, treatment options, understanding of PrEP and PEP medications, and debunking myths that contribute to stigma and discrimination.

  • Empower: Highlighting success stories and strategies that have effectively empowered Black individuals living with HIV. Empowerment can be through advocacy, policy change, access to care, and support systems.

Resources

Join My Brother’s Keeper, CDC’s Robyn Fanfair, DeMarc Hickson of Us Helping Us, and Let’s Stop HIV Together ambassador Christopher Walker on February 7 at 2 PM ET for the NBHAAD webinar. The panel will explore this year’s theme. Register for the webinar here!

Following is a list of resources from HIV.gov and our federal partners to help you become involved:

Recently, Kaye Hayes, MPA visited the Frederick Douglass House, a national historic site in southeast Washington, D.C. Stay tuned for a video as she reflected on what NBHAAD means and importance of community engagement as we continue to work to end the HIV epidemic.

OIDP’s Deputy Director, Dr. Timothy Harrison and LCDR Neelam “Nelly” Gazarian, PharmD, MS, AAHIVP, Policy Analyst, OIDP were also able to visit the historic Frederick Douglass House. Stay tuned to watch their remarks and thoughts in a video coming soon! Our NBHAAD Awareness Day page has resources such as the NBHAAD logo, fact sheets, and other materials from the community and across the U.S. Government.

My Brother’s Keeper has developed a media toolkit you can access here.

AIDSVu has developed a toolkit with helpful infographics you can use on social media or use as one-pagers. You can also read more about HIV in Black Communities here.

You also can use and share the CDC’s NBHAAD digital toolkit and their Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign resources for virtual or other events.

Be Informed

Black Americans continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV compared to other racial/ethnic groups. One of the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2022–2025) is to reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities. Please watch and share this webinar on how the Strategy can be used in local communities.

  • EHE implementation is a data-driven, locally implemented effort to reduce new HIV infections. Please share information on ongoing strategies to diagnose, treat, prevent, and respond to HIV.

  • The HIV Services Locator can help you find HIV services. Please share information about where individuals can find PrEP providers in their local area.

  • HIV self-testing is a key tool to increase testing and diagnoses and allows individuals to test in the comfort of wherever they choose. Find information about self-testing on HIV.gov. Please use and share the Locator to find testing services nearby. (Be sure to call ahead to inquire about the availability of self-testing.)

  • HIV treatment helps people with HIV stay healthy and live longer. There is also a major prevention benefit: People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner. Please share information about the importance of getting and staying on HIV treatment.

  • Basic HIV facts about HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are also available. Know the facts and spread the word with family members and friends who have not been tested for HIV, might be at risk, or are living with HIV.

Join the Conversation

Let your voice be heard by using the #NBHAAD hashtag on your social media.

We’ll be posting content on HIV.gov and on our social media channels throughout NBHAAD. For the latest on HIV resources, policies, and programs, sign up to receive email updates.

This article was published February 1, 2024, on HIV.gov.