Friday, February 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) 2025. It was launched in 1999 to shed light on how the HIV epidemic disproportionately affects the African-American community—and to increase testing, prevention, treatment and education efforts.
The Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative has received bipartisan support since the program was first funded in FY2020. This #NBHAAD, we need to protect funding to get the job done. Tell your representatives in Congress to #SaveHIVFunding at bit.ly/savehivfunding2025.
— Oni Blackstock (@oniblackstock.bsky.social) February 5, 2025 at 12:28 PM
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In previous years, a theme and related hashtags and initiatives were unveiled to help promote NBHAAD. Last year’s theme, for example, was “Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities.”
Glad to see the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness page back up. #NBHAAD is this Friday 2/7. Black people account for ~40% of new HIV diagnoses, although we comprise only ~13% of the US population. We will not be erased.www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/dire...
— Oni Blackstock (@oniblackstock.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 10:24 AM
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This year, however, NBAAD arrives as the new Trump administration unleashes attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), notably when it comes to Black Americans and the LGBTQ community. In the resulting chaos, health data has been scrubbed from federal websites. Related programs and funding have also been cut.
For more, see “Trump White House Erases, Silences HIV, LGBTQ and Health Content.” “CDC Pulls, Partially Restores HIV Web Content” and “Thousands Protest at U.S. State Department to Restore Global HIV and AIDS Programs.”
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Nonetheless, everyday citizens, advocates, health care providers, lawmakers, scientists, pharma leaders and organizations step up during NBHAAD to address the HIV epidemic in the Black community.
“National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a timely reminder that we still have work to do in the fight against HIV. That’s why ViiV Healthcare works hand-in-hand with the Black community to activate support networks and linkage to care services, as well as to deliver culturally-relevant programming,” Randevyn Pierre, head of national field engagement in external affairs at ViiV Healthcare, said in a statement to POZ. “We continue to strive toward the goal of ensuring that every person impacted by HIV receives the care and support they need. Our ambition is clear: to end the HIV epidemic once and for all.”
Search #NBHAAD on social media for campaigns and virtual and in-person events. Several samples are posted throughout this article. To read about free HIV testing events in Atlanta and throughout South Carolina, click here.
AIDSVu created sharable infographics for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2025.Courtesy of AIDSVu.org
NBHAAD content on federal sites is spotty, but fact-based data is still available. POZ Basics and AIDSVu.org are great places to find reliable information. AIDSVu, an interactive site that maps and visualizes HIV data, also includes downloadable graphics and an updated NBHAAD 2025 toolkit. It reads in part:
“February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which recognizes the disproportionate impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on Black communities and individuals across the U.S. Black people accounted for 39% of people living with HIV (PLWH) and 38% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2022, despite only representing 12% of the U.S. population. Black men had the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses among men of all races/ethnicities in 2022. Similarly, Black women had the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses among women of all races/ethnicities in 2022. Additionally, young Black people accounted for half of all new HIV diagnoses among youth in 2022.
“Despite representing the highest percentage of PLWH and number of new diagnoses among all races/ethnicities, Black people accounted for the lowest percentage (14%) of PrEP users in 2023. Black people also have the lowest PrEP-to-Need Ratio (PnR), meaning that they experience the greatest unmet need for PrEP. Despite the barriers faced by Black people and communities, Black people represented the highest percentage of any demographic group to be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime in 2022.
“Social determinants of health (SDOH) also play a large role in the impact of the HIV epidemic on Black communities. Black people living with HIV (PLWH) report feeling stigmatized due to their HIV status through personalized stigma, disclosure concerns, negative self-image, and perceived public attitudes about PLWH. Additionally, 22% of Black PLWH in the U.S. reported unstable housing or homelessness in 2022 – the highest percentage among all races/ethnicities.”
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Click here to learn more about 2025 HIV and AIDS awareness days, and click here for a printable poster.
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