National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — a Call for Equitable HIV Prevention
Photo: © Getty/Tim Robberts. Model not real Planned Parenthood patient.
February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — an observance created in 1999 to raise awareness about HIV prevention, education, testing, and treatment for Black communities. While there have been advancements in each of these areas over the past few decades, there is still work to be done.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black Americans make up 13% of the US population, but 42% of new HIV diagnoses. It’s clear that there’s a real disparity in access to health care and HIV prevention methods for Black communities. Fortunately, providers, educators, advocates, and organizations like Planned Parenthood have identified the tools to address this public health crisis.
HIV PREVENTION & EDUCATION
As the nation’s largest provider of sex education, including HIV education and prevention, Planned Parenthood’s programs, resources, and online tools deliver accurate health information in ways that are compassionate and enjoyable, while aiming to remove stigma. Resources include a video series that can help you get more comfortable talking about STDs and safer sex and a short quiz — The Check — to help you figure out if you should get tested for HIV and other STDs.
Education is the key to prevention, so resources like these are critical for communities deeply affected by HIV. The CDC estimated 44% of Black transgender women live with HIV. Black gay and bisexual men and Black men who have sexual contact with other men account for the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses. Structural racism and implicit biases in the medical field affect Black people’s access to quality health care and creates barriers around getting information and support. These inequities often result in delayed diagnoses and higher rates of HIV, while stigma and miseducation can leave Black communities without preventive tools and lifesaving treatments. All of these barriers ultimately restrict Black people living with HIV from getting the care and support they deserve.
However, Black communities are resilient. Sharing information, talking about safer sex and HIV prevention, and even getting tested with loved ones — your partner, friends, or family members — are ways you can help protect yourself and your communities from HIV. This type of openness and transparency can also help to remove the stigma that still surrounds HIV.
If you think you may have been exposed to HIV, you can make an appointment with your nurse or doctor or at your local Planned Parenthood health center to find out if post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is right for you. PEP is a series of pills that you start using within 72 hours of being exposed to HIV.
There is also pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a daily pill that can help prevent HIV. Taking PrEP every day can lower your chances of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. Both PrEP and PEP can help people live healthy and safer sex lives. In addition to PrEP and PEP, you can get check-ups, condoms, HIV tests, and more at your local Planned Parenthood health center.
HOW TO GET TESTED
Like most STDs, most people who have HIV don’t show any symptoms right away. One in seven Black Americans living with HIV don’t know it. That’s why regular testing is important — it’s the only way to know if you have HIV, and it can lead to early diagnosis and treatment, which can help you stay healthy. HIV tests can be quick, painless, and sometimes even free. Planned Parenthood health centers offer compassionate care, including HIV testing and counseling. The staff at Planned Parenthood are nonjudgmental and can answer your sexual health questions (even the ones you may be afraid to ask). Learn more about making an appointment.
If you’re not able to reach a health center, you can test yourself for HIV using an at-home HIV testing kit. With the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, you swab your gums and test the sample yourself. You get results in 20 minutes. With the Home Access HIV-1 Test, you prick your finger to get a small amount of blood. You mail your blood sample to a lab, and get your results in about a week.
At-home tests are totally anonymous — you’re the only person who will know the results. When you find out your results, you’ll get information about how to connect with counselors who can give you support and advice about treatment if you test positive. Knowing your HIV status is essential to staying healthy and taking control of your sex life.
TREATMENT
All STDs, including HIV, are treatable. If you are living with HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of medicines that slows down the effects of HIV in your body and can help you stay healthy for many years. It can also lower or even stop your chances of giving HIV to anyone else, because it lowers the amount of HIV in your body (called your viral load) — sometimes to the point where HIV won’t show up on standard blood tests. If your HIV viral load is so low that certain tests can’t see it, it’s called “undetectable.” When someone has an undetectable viral load, they can’t spread HIV to others during sex.
WHAT HIV PREVENTION WORK IS PLANNED PARENTHOOD DOING FOR BLACK COMMUNITIES?
Some Planned Parenthood health centers provide PrEP and PEP, and all health centers can connect people living with HIV to treatment options so they can get the care they need.
In 2018, we launched the second phase of our HIV Prevention Initiative in partnership with the Black AIDS Institute (BAI), a national organization working to stop the HIV epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals. This initiative allowed us to expand our comprehensive HIV prevention and education efforts for communities that face the most barriers to accessing equitable health care, education, and treatment.
To find a health center near you and learn more about HIV prevention and education, go to plannedparenthood.org.
-Jocelyn and Leanna at Planned Parenthood
