February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a day to acknowledge the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on Black communities in the U.S. This year’s theme, “Breaking Stigma: Get Real, Get Informed, Get Tested,” highlights how stigma fuels barriers to testing, prevention, and treatment – and why we need to break it down.

In 2023, Black people made up just 12% of the population in the U.S., but accounted for 39% of people living with HIV and 38% of new diagnoses – that’s about 40 Black people getting an HIV diagnosis every day. Despite this, only 14% of people using PrEP were Black. Black men and women had the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses, and nearly half of new diagnoses among young people were among young Black individuals. And in 2022, 12% of Black people living with HIV didn’t know they had it.