Dear Colleague: September 27, 2023

September 27, 2023

Dear Colleague:

Today is National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NGMHAAD), a day to help end HIV stigma and encourage HIV testing, prevention, and treatment among gay and bisexual men.

This year, we are highlighting the success of Together TakeMeHome (TTMH), a program with the goal of bringing HIV testing to people wherever they are—distributing at least 1 million free HIV self-tests by mail over the next five years. TTMH overcomes economic, geographic, and social barriers to HIV testing and has been proven to work in a randomized trial with gay and bisexual men.

Setting up a system where people can order HIV self-tests through the internet and apps has been shown to be highly effective, and cost-saving to the health care system. TTMH not only brings testing to people wherever they are, but many of the people who test report never having tested for HIV previously. We invite all of us working in HIV, including those in health care, and public health to continue promoting TTMH to populations in need. Regardless of the test results, anyone who would like additional support can reach out to the TTMH support via email or telephone. People who receive a negative test result can take advantage of HIV prevention tools such as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and condoms. People who receive a positive test result can start HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy, or ART) to stay healthy. Learn more about innovative ways to increase access to HIV prevention and treatment.

This NGMHAAD, help us raise awareness about HIV testing, prevention, and treatment for gay and bisexual men by downloading and sharing resources from CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign, the national campaign of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Let’s Stop HIV Together is an evidence-based campaign created in English and Spanish that aims to empower communities, partners, and health care providers to reduce HIV stigma and promote HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. You can also share social media content from CDC’s digital toolkit using the #NGMHAAD and #StopHIVTogether hashtags.

Together, we can build on the progress made through TTMH, reduce HIV incidence, and continue working toward the end of the HIV epidemic in this country.

Sincerely,

/Robyn Fanfair/

Robyn Neblett Fanfair, MD, MPH
Captain, USPHS
Acting Director
Division of HIV Prevention
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/hiv

/Jonathan Mermin/

Jonathan H. Mermin, MD, MPH
RADM and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS
Director
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Stay connected: @DrMerminCDC & Connections