![ViiV Healthcare’s Me In You, You In Me campaign, highlighting the importance of community to overcome bias and encourage open conversation around HIV, features a variety of creatives and public figures, including [from left to right] Taye Diggs, Villano Antillano, Nicco Annan, Tinashe, Rafael De La Fuente and Nicky Champa.](https://eurweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/HeaderImage.jpg)
*Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for 40% of new HIV cases despite only accounting for 13% of the U.S. population.[i] This extends to Black women – about one-fifth of new HIV cases were among women, with Black women accounting for over half of those cases.[ii] Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that only 11% of Black people who could benefit from PrEP (a medicine used to prevent HIV) were prescribed it in 2021. ViiV Healthcare has plans to deal with the situation. Read on for more about that.
HIV clearly remains a pressing public health issue impacting our community — so, what stops us from talking about HIV and its prevention?
In recognition of National HIV Testing Day (June 27), ViiV Healthcare is returning with a new iteration of Me In You, You In Me – a one-of-a-kind PSA that is both a campaign and a community movement-building initiative. Me In You, You In Me powerfully illustrates how finding community and overcoming bias are crucial to ensuring that everyone understands the role they play in HIV prevention.
To experience the Me In You, You In Me campaign first-hand, ViiV Healthcare convened pivotal creatives and public figures spanning across an array of specialties, including singer, dancer, and actress Tinashe, actor and author Taye Diggs, actor and choreographer Nicco Annan, rapper and artist Villano Antillano, social media star and model Nicky Champa, and actor Rafael De La Fuente.
See the beautiful launch video, featuring those personalities, here.
Me In You, You In Me shows us that although HIV prevention is thought of as an individual act, it is really a community effort. That’s why it focuses on amplifying community voices to bring people together to discuss HIV prevention as part of routine conversations where people live, work, and play.
This summer, the initiative is on the ground in four key cities in the U.S. that are strongly impacted by the HIV epidemic: Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and New Orleans. Local cultural influencers, community-based organizations, and businesses— everything from churches to bars, to coffee shops—will come together to talk about HIV prevention in different settings. By incorporating people and places that represent all aspects of a community, the circle broadens to include all; expanding the community to strengthen connections and talk openly about preventing HIV.
So where do you fit in?
There are various ways to step up and be a part of HIV prevention. It could be getting tested to know your status, starting an open conversation without hang-ups, talking to your healthcare provider about prevention options like PrEP medicines, or creating safe spaces for people to prioritize their health. Each of these actions can have an impact on the community around you.
Learn more about the role YOU play in HIV prevention with Me In You, You In Me.
[i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV Surveillance Report, 2019; vol.32. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html. Published May 2021
[ii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimated HIV incidence and prevalence in the United States, 2017–2021. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report, 2023; 28 (No.3). http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html. Published May 2023.
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