Black Women and HIV: Breaking Down Barriers, Having Conversations in the Communities

In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its surveillance report that showed that despite Black women in the United States making up just 13% of the overall female population, they accounted for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women.¹

Barriers for Black women getting HIV prevention and care include access, economic, and cultural, which contribute to the disparity, and underscore an urgent need that demands focused action.

In trying to overcome these barriers and limited educational opportunities, ViiV Healthcare has been looking to meet women where they are. For example, last fall they sponsored a panel session at the Beautycon conference titled, “State of Beauty: Real Talk on the Intersection of Beauty, Self-Care and Sexual Health.” One of the featured panelists was Alftan Dyson, PharmD, AAHIVP, FNPhA, regional medical Lead & US DEI medical engagement lead at ViiV Healthcare.

“I think that's a key," Dyson said. "Showing up in nontraditional spaces to have this conversation, because that really breaks down the stigma, right?”

Dyson explains this is all part of a community-focused approach. One specific initiative involved in the approach is the Risk to Reasons program, which was developed by ViiV Healthcare, and aims to increase awareness and access to HIV prevention and care for Black women by changing the conversation.

“How do we shift the conversation from talking about risk? So, reframing risk to talk about reasons, particularly motivating reasons for prevention and care,” Dyson said. “And so Risk to Reasons is one of those initiatives where you bring in community, you listen to and work with community to create this initiative. And it's really the first multimillion dollar philanthropic investment that was dedicated to black women's needs.”

Reference
1. HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses, Deaths, and Prevalence of HIV in the United States and 6 Territories and Freely Associated States, 2022. May 21, 2024. Accessed January 15, 2025.
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/156509