Monday, February 7th marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (#NBHAAD) 2022. This year’s theme, “Progress & Resilience,” recognizes the significant progress Black communities have made in reducing HIV transmission. Yet it also recognizes that racism, discrimination, and mistrust in the health care system ultimately affect whether Black people seek or receive HIV prevention services. These issues may also reduce the likelihood of engaging in HIV treatment and care.

Did you know that in 2019, African Americans represented 13% of the U.S. population but 43% of new HIV cases? In the American South, they accounted for 52% of HIV diagnoses. You can learn more about HIV among African Americans—and several other minority populations—by visiting the HIV/AIDS Basics on POZ.com and clicking on the “HIV in Specific Populations” section.

To continue to reduce disproportionate rates of HIV transmission and the burden of HIV and other health risks, folks need adequate housing and transportation, employment, access to culturally competent health services that are free of stigma and discrimination, and more. While these are services CAP and Prism Health provide, it takes a cultural shift to address the systemic issues embedded within our communities, institutions, and society. Together, when we work to overcome structural barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment and to stop HIV stigma, we help reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities in Black communities. But how do we do that in practice? And how can exploring these topics and centering the lives of those populations help fight HIV stigma? Leading cultural figures of the Black community seek to answer these questions in the podcast Being Seen. Presented by the HIV pharmaceutical company ViiV Healthcare and hosted by actor Darnell Moore, the series examines the power of cultural representation. Each episode focuses on one topic, ranging from mental health and sports to faith, intimacy, and HIV and AIDS.

“We have to share our stories, as different and complex as they may be, to push back against the erasure of our work and voices,” added host Moore. “I hope that audiences end every episode a bit more committed to cocreating a world where the lives of all Black people matter.”

Want to keep listening to these incredibly powerful stories? Check out the Being Seen podcast website for all three seasons of episodes at the link below.

Being Seen is an outgrowth of ViiV’s research into the lives of queer Black men in Baltimore, Maryland and Jackson, Mississippi. Their findings showed that these men wanted to create their own experiences and programs. This resulted in ViiV helping produce the theatrical experience As Much as I Can. To learn more about that, see “100s of Black Gay & Bi Men Helped Create This Theater Piece [VIDEOS].” 

About Cascade AIDS Project

CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017.  More information can be found at www.capnw.org.

About Being Seen

Being Seen is an in-depth exploration of culture’s role in resolving the tension between how we are seen and how we see ourselves. It is a space to explore current cultural representations and their impact through conversations with leading artists, writers, activists, entertainers, and community leaders. If we create nuanced and accurate cultural portrayals of identity and experience, we have an opportunity to reduce stigma and change perception - impacting everything from HIV to institutional inequality.

About Viiv Healthcare

At ViiV Healthcare, we are driven by our mission to leave no person living with HIV or AIDS behind. As the only company solely focused on HIV and AIDS, we go beyond developing new medicines. We take a holistic approach to HIV and AIDS by developing and supporting sustainable community programs – with and for the HIV community.

About POZ

POZ is an award-winning print and online brand for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Offering unparalleled editorial excellence since 1994, POZ magazine and POZ.com are identified by our readers as their most trusted sources of information about the disease.