In 2013, 1.2 million people in the United States were living with HIV. In that year, there had been 40,630 new HIV infections and 12,960 AIDS-related deaths. Out of the people infected, it is said that one in seven are unaware that they have HIV. This creates an issue of unintended infection to others, as being more aware of your condition allows you to be more considerate with your actions. HIV in the United States is prevalent among certain populations, particularly minorities. In addition, it is found that HIV is more prevalent in prisoners, people who inject drugs, and the younger population. 

The prevalence of HIV among minorities has added to a higher stigma in addition to the stigma these groups already receive for other reasons. The incidence of stigma against the topic has made it more difficult for certain groups to receive education, while others are continuously targeted as in need of education. This also means that certain groups are unlikely to be tested for the disease because of the negative stigma surrounding it. People of lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to be tested for HIV because of either their lack or insufficiency of health insurance. In 2012, HIV home-testing kits were available to the public, but up until now, only 54% of Americans have ever tested for HIV, meaning there is still a great percentage of people that are at an unknown risk. 

Despite the accessibility of condoms, their use has been decreasing, leading to a greater risk of acquiring HIV among people. Furthermore, the increased use of needles to inject drugs has led to higher risk. In the US, many sexual health education programs stress abstinence, dismissing the importance of a more comprehensive program that includes education on birth control and barrier methods that are the only way of preventing STIs. While abstinence is effective in preventing the spread of HIV, it is not the only option, and schools should be more willing to share valuable information with their students. Overall, many of these programs are incomplete and lack necessary information that could help students, especially in the critical age that they are in (mainly 13-15 years old).

The only way to target the still-high numbers of people diagnosed with HIV every year is by increasing education. Specific forms of this would be to advertise condom availability and use, stressing a comprehensive health education, and campaigns increasing knowledge on mother to child transmission and harm reduction.  By lowering the stigma through meaningful propaganda and sharing widespread information, we will be able to tackle the problem in a different way.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12282133

https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/western-central-europe-north-america/usa