National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Saving Face Can’t Make You Safe

May 18, 2017

May 19th is National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Between 2010 and 2014, the Asian population in the United States grew around 11%, more than three times as fast as the total U.S. population. During the same period, the number of Asians receiving an HIV diagnosis increased by 36%, driven primarily by an increase in HIV diagnoses among Asian gay and bisexual men. Asians, who make up 6% of the population, continue to account for only a small percentage of new HIV diagnoses in the United States:

• Asians accounted for 2% (959) of the 40,040 new HIV diagnoses in the United States and 6 dependent areas in 2015.
• Of Asians diagnosed with HIV infection in 2015, 86% (820) were men and 14% (132) were women.
• Gay and bisexual men accounted for 89% (729) of all HIV diagnoses among Asian men in 2015. Among Asian women, 95% (125) of HIV diagnoses were attributed to heterosexual contact.e
• From 2010 to 2014, HIV diagnoses increased by 47% among Asian gay and bisexual men in the United States.
• In 2015, 326 Asians were diagnosed with AIDS, representing 2% of the 18,538 AIDS diagnoses in the United States and 6 dependent areas.

Read more on CDC.gov.

Although Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) account for a very small percentage of new HIV diagnoses, HIV affects NHOPI in ways that are not always apparent because of their small population sizes:

• In 2015, 79 NHOPI were diagnosed with HIV, representing less than 1% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States. NHOPI make up 0.2% of the population.
• NHOPI had the third-highest rate of HIV diagnoses (14.1 per 100,000 people) by race/ethnicity in 2015, behind blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos.b
• Gay and bisexual menc accounted for 78% (62) of HIV diagnoses among NHOPI in 2015.
• The annual number of HIV diagnoses among NHOPI declined 22% from 2010 to 2014.
• In 2015, 22 NHOPI were diagnosed with AIDS in the United States.

Read more on CDC.gov.

Read more about the day and how you can get involved on AIDS.gov. Read more about creating awareness on BanyanTreeProject.org.