Thursday, April 18, marks National Transgender HIV Testing Day (#NTHTD and #TransHIV) 2024, a day that highlights the importance of routine HIV testing, prevention and treatment among transgender individuals, who often face unique barriers to care.
In the United States, about 1.6 million people identify as transgender, 300,000 of whom are between 13 and 17 years old, according to the Williams Institute. This means that 0.5% of U.S. adults and 1.4% of youth identify as transgender.
In 2021, transgender folks accounted for 2% of new HIV diagnoses (including all populations, genders and sexualities, about 36,100 people tested HIV positive in 2021). Trans women accounted for 89% of new diagnoses among all trans people, and 78% of those women were Black and Latina.
In 2022, according to AIDSVu.org, which organizes HIV data in interactive maps and sharable graphics, “73% of transgender women and 64% of transgender men living with HIV lived below the federal poverty level. Transgender individuals living with HIV also reported higher rates of homelessness or unstable housing than cis men or cis women living with HIV in 2021.”
In its #TransHIV coverage, AIDSVu also includes an interview with Tori Cooper, the director of community engagement for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Transgender Justice Initiative and the first Black transgender woman to be appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).
HIV testing is a critical HIV prevention strategy and an important first step in receiving timely HIV care. The transgender community often faces barriers to care due to transphobia or HIV-related stigma and discrimination, which impedes individuals from accessing health care services.
In 2023, “Let’s Stop HIV Together,” the national campaign of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S., initiative and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, launched TakeMeHome, a program that mails free HIV self-test kits anywhere in the country. The program has delivered more than 350,000 kits nationwide.
The TakeMeHome website answers common questions about HIV testing, prevention, results and more. The program aims to deliver one million HIV self-test kits by 2028. Complete a form in as little as three minutes and have a discreetly packaged kit shipped within days.
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When it comes to risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 1.2 million people are at high risk for HIV exposure and could benefit from effective HIV prevention strategies, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Although high proportions of transgender women know about PrEP, far fewer are using it, according to AIDSVu.
For example, a 2021 CDC Special Report found that 92% of trans women in Atlanta know about PrEP, but only 23% use it. In Seattle, 82% of trans women are aware of PrEP, but just 17% use the prevention tool.
This National Transgender HIV Testing Day, use #NTHTD or #StopHIVTogether on social media to spread awareness about the importance of knowing your HIV status as a transgender person via routine testing.
To learn more about other HIV awareness days, including a calendar you can download and print, visit “2024 HIV/AIDS Awareness Days.”
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