As the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) continues its commitment of supporting efforts to end the HIV epidemic among Black women, and in recognition of National Women and Girl’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10 and Women’s History Month in March, our latest FYI video focuses on engaging Black women in the HIV response. Watch the video belowExit Disclaimer.

CDR Michelle Sandoval-Rosario, DrPH, MPH is joined in the video by her OIDP colleagues, CAPT Jyl Martin, MPH, CHESR, NHDP-BC, and Dr. Marissa Robinson, DrPH, MPH. They began their discussion by sharing some of their key takeaways from the 2023 US Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) closing plenaryExit Disclaimer. Last year’s conference theme, “A Love Letter to Black Women,” celebrated Black women across the HIV movement, from activists to women with HIV, advocates, community voices, federal leaders, and more. “One of the key takeaways was a level-setting and a clarification of some misperceptions, such as Black women are hard to reach. They’re not hard to reach, the correct term […] would be under-resourced. […] We need dedicated resources to address the unique needs of Black women,” said CAPT Martin, who also serves as a senior policy analyst and lead for the OIDP Engagement Teams, and the co-lead of the initiative. Their conversation also addressed how OIDP is continuing the momentum of last year’s USCHA theme.

New Initiative Focuses on Black Women

Dr. Robinson, OIDP’s Health Equity Specialist Lead, who is also the co-lead for a new OIDP initiative that centers Black women in the HIV response shared more about how OIDP is supporting Black women. “OIDP is working on a national strategic effort to work with Black women of both cis and trans experience […] to make sure we have […] a culturally sound intentional focus for Black women, [which entails] a for us and by us approach,” she said. She further emphasized this approach and shared an often-quoted mantra of OIDP’s Director, Kaye Hayes, “nothing for us without us.” Dr. Robinson ended her remarks by encouraging viewers to stay tuned for more information and updates regarding the initiative to support Black women, one of the key populations noted in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy who are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic in comparison to women of other races/ethnicities. Watch the full videoExit Disclaimer to hear more of the conversation.

Be sure to stay tuned for another upcoming blog about the initiative and a recent community-driven March 2024 meeting in Houston.

Learn More

For more information regarding the impact of HIV among racial and ethnic minorities, including Black women, read our HIV.gov page here. Also, check out this CDC fact sheet, which includes data that highlights significant disparities in HIV-related aspects among Black women of both cis and trans experience, shedding light on the importance of targeted interventions, increased HIV awareness, and improved access to healthcare resources to address the unique challenges faced by Black women.