CDC Issues Dear Colleague Letter About National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2018

Cross-posted from NCHHSTP Communications Center

Dear Colleague,

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness DayExit Disclaimer (NBHAAD) is February 7. We encourage you to join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners across the United States in observing this day, celebrating progress in HIV prevention among blacks/African Americans, and taking actions to expand progress.

HIV diagnoses have declined among African Americans in recent years, including a 20% decline from 2011 to 2015 among African American women. This progress may indicate the success of targeted efforts to prevent HIV among some of the most-affected populations. However, as NBHAAD’s theme—Stay the Course, the Fight Is Not Over—reminds us, we must continue to build on this success to reach our goal to prevent HIV.

In 2016, more than 17,000 African Americans received an HIV diagnosis, representing 44% of all new diagnoses in the United States. Furthermore, while HIV diagnoses have stabilized among African American gay and bisexual men as a whole, those aged 25 to 34 experienced a 30% increase from 2011 to 2015. Today’s HIV prevention and treatment tools can accelerate progress in preventing new infections and reducing HIV-related disparities that affect African Americans.

CDC’s prevention and care activities to address HIV among African Americans include:

• Funding for state and local health departments to support HIV surveillance and prevention programs across the United States, as well as interventions that reach those populations most affected by HIV, including African Americans.
• Funding for health departments to implement comprehensive HIV prevention programs for young gay and bisexual men of color and young transgender persons of color.
• A national capacity-building assistance program to strengthen the ability of organizations to deliver high-quality, accessible prevention and care services for persons living with HIV, as well as prevention services for those at high risk for HIV.
• Act Against AIDS, a national communication initiative that includes campaigns such as Doing It, which encourages all adults to get tested for HIV; Start Talking. Stop HIV., which fights stigma and helps gay and bisexual men communicate about HIV prevention; and HIV Treatment Works, which shows how people living with HIV have overcome barriers to stay in care. Partnering and Communicating Together (PACT) to Act Against AIDS, a partnership with organizations such as the National Urban League and the National Black Justice Coalition, helps raise awareness among the populations most affected by HIV.

Together we are making progress toward a future free of new HIV infections among African Americans, but much work remains. NBHAAD is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to staying the course—using proven, effective prevention strategies to reach African Americans most at risk for HIV and helping those living with HIV stay healthy. Thank you for joining us in this work.

Sincerely,

/Eugene McCray/

Eugene McCray, MD
Director
Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/hiv

/Jonathan Mermin/

Jonathan H. Mermin, M.D., MPH
RADM and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS
Director
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/nchhstp