World AIDS Day 2024: CDC Dear Colleague Letter

Cross-posted from: World AIDS Day 2024 | CDC | NCHHSTP

Dear Colleague,

November 26, 2024

December 1 is World AIDS Day, a time to remember and honor the more than 32 million people who have died worldwide from AIDS-related illness and renew our commitment to ending the HIV epidemic. This year's theme, "Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress," challenges us to work collaboratively and in community with each other to maintain and build on our progress. An ongoing key challenge to that progress is HIV stigma—in our communities, in health care settings, and in public health research and practice—and how stigma affects access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care.

HIV stigma can negatively impact access to HIV testing and prevention services like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). For people with HIV, stigma can create barriers to HIV treatment, viral suppression, and other medical care. We must champion supportive and safe communities and health care settings to reduce stigma and help improve health outcomes for people with HIV.

CDC's Medical Monitoring Project collects data related to the stigma that people with HIV experience based on a scale that ranges from 0 (no stigma) to 100 (high stigma). Stigma scores reflect concerns about disclosing HIV status, negative self-image, and perceived public attitudes about people with HIV. The most recent data show that in 2022, the median HIV stigma score was 29 among people with diagnosed HIV, compared to the 2025 National HIV/AIDS Strategy goal of 16. We have more work to do.

In the last four decades, advancements in HIV treatment have made it possible for people with HIV to live healthy lives and prevent transmission to others. Research has shown that when a person with HIV is on treatment and maintains an undetectable viral load, they will not transmit HIV to their sexual partners. Also known as U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), this knowledge has become a powerful tool for reducing HIV stigma and increasing ART adherence and viral suppression among people with HIV. To maximize these benefits, we must ensure that health care providers, people with HIV, and the general public are aware of this critical information. Greater awareness can create more inclusive and supportive environments for individuals with HIV, empowering them to live openly without fear of stigma's negative attitudes, false beliefs, or prejudices.

As we commemorate World AIDS Day this year, we can honor the lives we have lost to AIDS-related illness by addressing and reducing HIV stigma in all its forms, whether that means raising awareness in our communities, dispelling misconceptions among our colleagues, or engaging in research and work to improve access to HIV prevention and care. CDC's Let's Stop HIV Together is an evidence-based campaign, created in English and Spanish, offering valuable resources to support national HIV prevention efforts, including U=U. Together aims to empower communities, partners, and health care providers through resources on topics like helping stop HIV stigma,  HIV treatment as prevention, and treatment resources. You can also share social media content from CDC's digital toolkit using the #WorldAIDSDay2024 and #StopHIVTogether hashtags. Together, we can fight HIV stigma and end the HIV epidemic.

Sincerely,

/Robyn Fanfair/
Robyn Neblett Fanfair, MD, MPH
Captain, USPHS
Director
Division of HIV Prevention National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/hiv

/Jonathan Mermin/
Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH
Rear Admiral, USPHS (Ret.)
Director
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Stay connected: @DrMerminCDC & Connections