Upon taking office in March, new US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield, MD, set an ambitious goal for the agency’s staff, and health care professionals nationwide: ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the nation “in the next 3 to 7 years.”

In his remarks, as reported by The Hill on March 30th, Dr. Rosenfeld cited the advances made in therapeutics, including HIV prophylaxis, and the resources now widely available to at-risk populations, including condoms and screening programs. However, advocates within the HIV/AIDS arena note that significant challenges remain.

Among them: Addressing the incidence of the disease among transgender populations and encouraging those who identify as transgender to get tested.

Since 2016, the US public health community has observed National Transgender HIV Testing Day each April 18th. In announcing its efforts in connection with the event, in an email sent out last week, the CDC shared some troubling statistics: according to the agency, 22% to 28% of transgender women are living with HIV, as are an estimated 56% of black/African-American transgender women. A paperpublished in 2016 suggests that as many as 1 million Americans currently identify as transgender.

In conjunction with this year’s National Transgender HIV Testing Day, the CDC has implemented several initiatives in order to improve testing rates among transgender Americans, including providing additional funding to community-based organizations offering testing programs as well as bolstering Project PrIDE, which supports health departments’ efforts to provide PrEP to transgender women. The agency will also be offering new continuing medical education programs designed to assist healthcare providers in delivering patient-centered HIV prevention and care to transgender individuals.
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