HIV: What You Should Know
Globally, an estimated 38 million people live with the virus. More than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS related illnesses over the past 40 years, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. Today, reiterated by guidance from the World Health Organization, we know that Undetectable = Unstransmittable which equals Zero Risk. This means that people diagnosed with HIV, who remain on proper and consistent medication and treatment to keep the HIV virus down to an undetectable level on lab tests, cannot transmit the virus and as a result, carry zero risk of spreading the virus to others.
GLAAD Resources
GLAAD Research
HIV/AIDS Fast Facts
- People living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV. Treating HIV can suppress the virus to the point it is no longer detected. When HIV is undetected, it is untransmittable, the key message of the U=U campaign.
- There were 31, 800 estimated new HIV infections in 2022 and nearly 40% of new HIV infections are transmitted by people who don’t know they have the virus. (CDC)
- There was a 12% decrease in new HIV infections from 2018 (36,200) to 2022 (31,800). The decline was driven by a 30% decrease among young people aged 13-24 years. Increases in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions, viral suppression, and HIV testing likely contributed to the decline. (CDC)
- Together, Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latino people made up more than half (70%) of estimated new HIV infections in 2022. (CDC)
- People who acquired HIV through heterosexual contact accounted for 22% (7,000) of the 31,800 estimated new HIV infections in 2022. (CDC)
- Medications like PrEP protect people who do not have HIV from contracting HIV. The CDC states that PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed.
- HIV diagnoses are not evenly distributed across states and regions. The highest rates of new diagnoses continue to occur in the South.
According to Federal Data from the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS)
- New HIV infections in the U.S. have declined in recent years, after a period of general stability. Estimated annual new HIV infections were 12% lower in 2021 compared to 2017—dropping from about 36,500 infections to about 32,100, putting us in a good starting position as we began our work to implement the Strategy.
- Overall, in 2022, 36% of the 1.2 million people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it, compared to 23% in 2019, though significant racial/ethnic and gender disparities persist.
- Nearly 90% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving HIV medical care in 2022 reached viral suppression, significantly higher than the 69.5% in 2010.
- Across 55 countries, PEPFAR supports over 63 million people with HIV testing services, and nearly 19 million people with antiretroviral treatment.
- Over the course of its 20 years, PEPFAR has enabled 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV and trained 340,000 new healthcare workers.
Oprah Honors Her Brother at 35th GLAAD Media Awards
On March 14th, esteemed media leader, actress, and author, Oprah Winfrey, received GLAAD’s Vanguard Award at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. There, she used her platform to speak out for the first time publicly about her brother Jeffrey, who died of AIDS, whose memory inspired much of her allyship activism for the LGBTQ community.
Introduced by long-time friends, iconic Chicago performer Chilli Pepper, and celebrity host Paolo Presta, Winfrey delivered an emotional and powerful speech, saying in part: “Many people don’t know this but, 35 years ago, my brother, Jeffrey Lee, passed away when he was just 29 years old from AIDS. Growing up at the time we did, in the community we did, we didn’t have the language to understand or speak about sexuality and gender in the way we do now. And at the time, I didn’t know how deeply my brother internalized the shame that he felt about being gay. I wish he could have lived to witness these liberated times and to be here with me tonight.”
GLAAD’s Vanguard Award honors allies who have promoted acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues. Winfrey was the host and producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 years, where the show consistently spotlighted an array of LGBTQ issues.
GLAAD’s Southern Story Bank
LGBTQ Southerners represent the vibrancy, resiliency, and beauty of the region they call home. The vast majority live in states without statewide laws protecting them from discrimination as transgender Southerners face record-high state-sponsored targeting of essential healthcare, free speech, and access to school sports and bathrooms. The South also has the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses, exacerbated and complicated by systemic and historic racism, poverty, and healthcare inequities.
LGBTQ Southerners are not solely defined by these challenges. They’re also parents, friends, siblings, small business owners, teachers, and everyday people. Here are some of their stories.
Quentin Bell
Executive Director, The Knights & Orchids Society (TKO)
Selma, AL
Quentin was named to the TIME100 Next list in 2022, honoring emerging leaders shaping the future and defining the next generation. See how he’s applying the lessons of Civil Rights history in his hometown to the current fight for LGBTQ equality and transgender liberation.
Dee Dee Watters
Activist, Publisher of TransGriot
Houston, TX & Chicago, IL
Dee Dee is an inspirational speaker, storyteller and role model for transgender people and all who want to live in their truth. “Human rights and trans rights are the same.”
Jasmine Davis
Team Lead/Lead Investigator for Transgender Programs
Research Associate-National HIV Behavioral Surveillance
CrescentCare
New Orleans, LA
Jasmine incorporates the arts, taking a holistic approach in healthcare when servicing and educating our communities through theater, song, poetry, and other forms of human experiences that invoke positive energy, enabling connection on deep levels of emotion.
Carter Brown
Executive Director, National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition
Dallas, TX
As a Black trans man in Texas, Carter explains how his personal journey and public mission are coming together with a simple goal: for trans people to be seen as human beings, family members, neighbors, colleagues, customers and friends.
Cedric Sturdevant
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Community Health Pier
Greenville, MS
Cedric is a living example of hope and possibility to young people in Mississippi, and for all to see that people living with HIV are living full, happy, purpose-filled lives. He delivers a message to faith leaders about erasing HIV stigma in communities across the South.
Quinton Reynolds
Executive Director, Game Changing Men
Atlanta, GA
A grantee of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative®, Quinton and the organization he founded open new dialogue about masculinity, safety and wellness for all men, including trans men and communities of color.
Helpful Organizations
- ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis.
- The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) is a leading organization dedicated to the support of HIV/AIDS research.
- Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) offers hands-on support services in New York City and HIV/AIDS education and advocacy for hundreds to thousands nationwide.
- HIV Medicine Association is an organization of U.S.-based HIV medicine professionals
- The International AIDS Society is the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals.
- The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) advocates for the lives and dignity of all people living with HIV/AIDS, especially the more than a million Americans who live with it today.
- Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) emphasizes prevention through wide-ranging education initiatives and helps to coordinate the care and treatment of citizens with HIV/AIDS.
- +Life Media is a media group focused on propelling stories of people living with HIV into the mainstream.
- PrEP 4ALL is is an organization of community members, healthcare professionals, lawyers, and academics all dedicated to increasing access to lifesaving HIV medication.
- UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, is an innovative partnership that leads and inspires the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) Department of HIV/AIDS provides evidence-based, technical support to Member States in scaling up treatment, care and prevention services and supply of HIV commodities to enable a comprehensive and sustainable response to HIV in countries.
- Kaiser Family Foundation’s HIV resources
