During the recent US Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), Kaye Hayes, MPA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infectious Disease, Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, and Executive Director, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, facilitated the conference’s closing plenary about how federal agencies are supporting Black women in their HIV response.

During the plenary, Ms. Hayes had a conversation with federal leaders, all Black women, from across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including Robyn Neblett Fanfair, MD, MPH, Captain, U.S. Public Health Service, and Acting Director, Division of HIV Prevention, CDC; Yemisi Odusanya, MPH, EHE Senior Advisor, HIV/AIDS Bureau, HRSA; and Mary Roary, PhD, MBA, Chief Equity Officer, SAMHSA. Immediately following the session entitled Efforts to End the HIV Epidemic Among Black Women, Ms. Hayes interviewed panelists about the plenary. We strongly urge you to watch this video, as it is a powerful reflection of the incredible contributions of Black women to the HIV response.

There were many other activities covered by HIV.gov including:

Organized by NMAC, the 27th annual USCHA featured institutes, workshops, and posters addressing issues in biomedical HIV prevention, aging, service delivery, and telehealth, prioritizing the issues of people with HIV and the next steps in ending the epidemic. This year’s theme was “A Love Letter to Black Women” to celebrate Black women and acknowledge the important role they play in the HIV/AIDS movement and society as a whole.

This blog post was originally published September 18, 2023, on HIV.gov.