National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to raise awareness about the impact of HIV on women and show support for women and girls with HIV.

In recent years, there has been notable progress in reducing HIV diagnoses among women in the US. From 2014 to 2018, HIV diagnoses decreased 7% among women overall, including a 10% decline among Black/African American women. While these numbers are encouraging, there is still much work to do to address gender and race-related disparities. In 2018, more than 7,000 women received an HIV diagnosis. Black/African American women made up 57% (4,097) of those diagnoses, followed by White women (21%; 1,491) and Hispanic/Latina women (18%; 1,269). Making the most of the full toolkit of HIV prevention and treatment strategies can raise awareness and help to prevent new HIV infections among women.

Locally, recent data indicate that 6% of new HIV transmissions (in 2021) were in cisgender females, down from 10.4% in 2016, according to recent Chicago Department of Public Health data.

Many women without HIV can benefit from proven prevention options such as PrEP & PEP which can prevent HIV transmission when taken as directed. And women living with HIV should be offered treatment and the appropriate services that help people with HIV get in care, stay in care, and adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART) so that they become undetectable.

To raise awareness about the many HIV prevention and treatment options for women, we encourage you to reach out to the Chicago House HOPE team or access services at this link.