This April 18th we recognize National Transgender HIV Testing Day, an initiative to increase HIV screening, prevention, and treatment among transgender people.
According to CDC, 2,351 transgender people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. from 2009 to 2014, with transgender women accounting for 84 percent of those diagnosed. In 2013 alone, of the 3.3 million people tested for HIV, the percentage of transgender people newly diagnosed with HIV was more than 3 times the national average. It is important to note that these data likely underreport HIV diagnoses among transgender people because of challenges in accurately identifying and reporting gender identity in HIV surveillance.
In 2017, AIDSVu released new data provided by 30 city jurisdictions 1 across the U.S. on the estimated number of transgender individuals living with diagnosed HIV as of 2015. Although these data are limited, they are an important step towards helping healthcare providers, advocates, and policy makers better understand how transgender populations are impacted by the HIV epidemic. The use of more inclusive data collection methods can help increase the likelihood that transgender people are correctly identified in HIV surveillance programs. Accurate data on transgender status is essential to delivering more effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care services to transgender people.
On National Transgender HIV Testing Day, get involved and join the fight against HIV:
- EDUCATE FAMILY AND FRIENDS: View our local statistics to see if your city reports transgender data
- LEARN MORE: Check out CDC’s page on HIV Among Transgender People to learn more about the many challenges that transgender people face related to HIV prevention
- GET TESTED: Visit AIDSVu.org/testing to find a testing site near you
- FIND PrEP PROVIDERS: Use AIDSVu’s PrEP locator to find a local PrEP provider
1 The following cities have provided AIDSVu with data on the number of transgender individuals living with diagnosed HIV (2015):
Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbia, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Hampton Roads, Houston, Jackson, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Richmond, San Francisco, Tampa, Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach
