What to know about HIV testing and treatment if you’re Black and LGBTQ+

While HIV first emerged as a national threat to white gay men, no group today remains at higher risk of infection than Black LGBTQ+ individuals.

Nearly half of all Americans living with HIV in the nation are Black, despite the demographic making up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to data first published nearly a decade ago, about half of all Black men who have sex with men will likely be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime.

This makes the Black and LGBTQ+ demographic more susceptible to HIV than any other. Meanwhile, the CDC has shut down grants to assist in the treatment and prevention of HIV, cancelling $1.5 billion in grants to states to help those impacted by the disease or who face high risks.

That means it falls on individuals to take proactive steps to seek treatment. But there are organizations across the country still ready to help despite the lack of federal support. Organizations like Us Helping Us, People Into Living conduct outreach to Black populations in the greater Washington, D.C., area, stressing the urgency of regular testing. The group provides rapid tests and linkages to care.

“We encourage having conversations with partners, asking to status,” said Antoine Pollard, community engagement coordinator for the organization. “Too often, people have sex without having that conversation. Then there is an uncomfortable feeling in a doctor’s office where you say, ‘No, I didn’t ask their status,’ or ‘I didn’t know before engaging with them.’”

The Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute, founded 25 years ago, also provides outreach to educate Black Americans about the level of exposure, and connects individuals with resources like pleasePrEPme.org, a website that offers assistance in obtaining HIV-prevention drugs at a minimal cost.

The Institute also published a plan in 2021, We the People: A Black Strategy to End HIV, that lays out ways to erase core systemic and societal issues that have led to the accelerated spread of the virus within minority communities.

“Black America’s unique vulnerability to HIV is rooted in decades of structural oppression following centuries of chattel slavery; the oppression’s resultant social and structural issues include poverty, anti-Black racism, homophobia, transphobia, housing and food instability, limited educational and employment opportunities, as well as a diminished quality of mental and physical health,” the report reads.

Meanwhile, public health agencies across the country — especially those in cities with heavily Black populations — have dedicated outreach efforts to specifically spur conversation around HIV in these communities.

DC Health in Washington, for example, held an event on World AIDS Day in December informing the community about services like free post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, provided in city pharmacies for anyone who seeks the medication within 72 hours of potential exposure to HIV. That can also be used to rapidly address chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea exposure.

The city also provided free and confidential testing, something regularly offered in the district.

“Through testing, treatment, and education, we can continue driving down new HIV cases and ensure that every resident has the opportunity to live a long, healthy life,” said Dr. Ayanna Bennett, director of DC Health.

Expanding use of PrEP remains a high priority for public health officials across the country, but especially among LGBTQ+ Black individuals. Subsequently, out of some 31,800 new HIV infections reported in 2022, about 11,900 — more than 37 percent — were among Blacks.

But among the good news for those already living with HIV is that treatment has proven increasingly effective thanks to medical advances. As of 2019, about 62 percent of Black Americans with HIV were virally suppressed, according to the CDC. While that is lower than the 74 percent of white LGBTQ+ men with the same undetectable status, it offers hope for those who test positive.

Many groups also make sure to be there for patients in the event tests reveal a positive diagnosis.

“You can determine HIV status through a rapid test, but there’s a process walking through that journey. You have just changed someone’s life telling them their test came back reactive. You need to be a support system and … link in case management services,” Pollard said.

“This isn’t a death sentence. It’s not like when HIV first came out, where you take a cocktail of pills within a day and end up dying more frequently and rapidly. Today, it’s like any other disease, like diabetes and high blood pressure. If you stay on top of your medical care, you can live a long life.”