About the Epidemic

There are approximately 1.1 million individuals living with HIV in the United States and 15% are unaware of their HIV infection. Although the annual number of new HIV diagnoses have remained relatively stable at approximately 38,000, there are major differences by demographics. Although the overwhelming number of new HIV diagnoses each year occur among men who have sex with men (of any race), blacks, Latinos, and people who inject drugs, there have been shifts on where the epidemic is increasing or decreasing among these populations. According to the Centers for Disease and Control, new HIV diagnoses are declining among whites, blacks and heterosexuals nationwide; stabilizing among Latinx populations generally, as well black men who have sex with men; and increasing among Latino and Native American men who have sex with men. In 2017, HIV diagnoses among transgender individuals in was three times the national average and between 2009 and 2014 there were 2,351 HIV diagnoses among transgender individuals—of whom 84% were transgender women, 14% transgender men, and many (43% among transgender women; 54% among transgender men) lived in the South. After years of declining HIV diagnoses among people who inject drugs, progress has halted in recent years as a consequence of the opioid epidemic-- and in some U.S. localities new HIV diagnoses among people who inject drugs may be increasing.

In 2016, 62% of people living with HIV in the U.S. are virally suppressed. However, viral suppression rates jump to 86% among people living with HIV enrolled in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. In order to maximize the health benefits of antiretroviral therapy and eliminate the risk of HIV transmission, people diagnosed with HIV who are on HIV therapy must sustain viral suppression. However, African Americans across demographic categories were less likely to achieve sustained viral suppression compared to all other ethnic/ racial groups.

In 2010, the United States released a National HIV/AIDS Strategy that established goals for reducing HIV incidence, increasing care access for people living with HIV, reducing HIV disparities and increasing coordination among federal agencies. Building upon the precepts of the NHAS, in 2019 the Department of Health and Human Services launched a plan to end the HIV epidemic (EHE) in the United States by 2030. The goal of EHE is to reduce HIV incidence by 75% in five years and 90% in 10 years by scaling up proven interventions to prevent new HIV infections. Nearly $300 million dollars has been requested to fund the first year of the initiative.

The goal of this database is to provide context to the 57 jurisdictions that are part of the EHE and to provide supplemental information to help evaluate the initiative’s progress.