08/20/2025
August 20 is Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (SHAAD).
Founded by the Southern AIDS Coalition, SHAAD is a reminder that the South carries both the highest burden of HIV in the United States and the greatest power to change the future.
The reality we face:
In 2022, the South accounted for 52 percent of new HIV diagnoses while only making up 38 percent of the U.S. population.
Fourteen percent of people living with HIV in the South do not know their status.
The South has the lowest PrEP-to-Need ratio nationwide, with only 12 PrEP users for every new HIV diagnosis.
Black communities represented 48 percent of new HIV diagnoses, yet only 23 percent of PrEP users. Hispanic communities represented 26 percent of new HIV diagnoses but only 19 percent of PrEP users.
These inequities are not accidents. They are driven by poverty, lack of insurance, housing instability, and systemic racism social determinants of health that deepen the epidemic in the South.
This year’s theme, “Power to the People,” reminds us that solutions live in our communities. Testing, prevention, open conversation, and a commitment to equity are the tools that can shift the course of this epidemic.
The South holds the history, the resilience, and the voices that can end this epidemic. Together, we can rewrite the story.
