Cooperative Agreement NU62PS924666

PACT - WE ARE UNITED - IN RESPONSE TO CDCS NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (NOFO), PARTNERING AND COMMUNICATING TOGETHER, AIDS UNITED (AU), IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL LGBTQ TASK FORCE, THE BLACK WOMEN?S IMPERATIVE, THE COLLABORATIVE TO ADVANCE HEALTH SERVICES, FIJATE BIEN/MPACT GLOBAL ACTION FOR GAY MEN?S HEALTH AND RIGHTS, AND BUILDING HEALTHY ONLINE COMMUNITIES SUBMIT A PROPOSAL TO BRING HIV PREVENTION AND AWARENESS MESSAGING TO KEY PRIORITY POPULATIONS AND AREAS ACROSS THE U.S. THIS APPLICATION FOR PACT ? WE ARE UNITED - IS SUBMITTED UNDER CATEGORY A AND B OF THE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT TO SUPPORT THE DISSEMINATION OF CDC?S LET?S STOP HIV TOGETHER (TOGETHER) CAMPAIGN VIA THE USE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND AT IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EVENTS. THE SCOPE OF STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES ARE DESIGNED TO REACH AND ENGAGE MSM, YOUNG MSM OF COLOR, TRANSGENDER WOMEN, HISPANIC/LATINX, AND COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN U.S. EVENTS ARE PLANNED TO TAKE PLACE IN TEN CRITICAL JURISDICTIONS IDENTIFIED BY THE ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC INITIATIVE (EHE) INCLUDING IN FLORIDA, GEORGIA, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, NEW YORK, OHIO, SOUTH CAROLINA, TEXAS, WASHINGTON. D.C, AND PUERTO RICO. TODAY, WE HAVE REAL SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE HIV EPIDEMIC IN THE US. YET, DESPITE ACCESS TO TREATMENT AND CARE, NEW ADVANCES IN TREATMENT, AND NEW PREVENTION MODALITIES SUCH AS PREP, 38,000 NEW HIV DIAGNOSES ARE REPORTED YEARLY WITH DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON CERTAIN SECTORS OF THE POPULATION. SOME OF THE CHALLENGES TO HIV PREVENTION AND TREATMENT CAN BE DIRECTLY LINKED TO LACK OF ACCURATE AND CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HIV AND THE IMPACT OF STIGMA. GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE ALONG WITH INTERNAL NEGATIVE ATTITUDES, BEHAVIORS, AND JUDGEMENTS TOWARDS PEOPLE LIVING WITH OR AT RISK FOR HIV ARE LINKED TO DISCOURAGING INDIVIDUALS FROM LEARNING THEIR HIV STATUS, ACCESSING TREATMENT, OR STAYING IN CARE. ADDITIONALLY, EXPERIENCES OF RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO ADDITIONAL BARRIERS IN HEALTHCARE AND, OFTEN, ARE LINKED TO DISPARITIES ACCESSING IMPORTANT HIV PREVENTION TOOLS, INCLUDING PRESCRIPTION OF PREP.BUILDING UPON THE SUCCESSES OF THE CURRENT CDC FUNDED PACT PROGRAM (FORMERLY ACT AGAINST AIDS) THAT MOBILIZED NATIONAL AND LOCAL-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP DELIVER HIV INFORMATION AND RESOURCES TO LGBTQ COMMUNITIES, AU WILL ENGAGE A BROADER AND TARGETED NETWORK OF NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTINUE DISSEMINATING THE TOGETHER CAMPAIGN MESSAGING. WORKING SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH THE PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS, ALONG WITH A NETWORK OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES ? AND UTILIZING DIGITAL, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND EVENTS ? WE PROPOSE TO DISSEMINATE HIV INFORMATION AND RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT HIV PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OPTIONS TO SPECIFIC AREAS AND POPULATIONS DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY HIV AND TO THEIR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. OUR PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL DISSEMINATE THE TOGETHER CAMPAIGN MESSAGES AND MATERIALS USING A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN TO INCLUDE TOGETHER-RELATED MESSAGES AND CONTENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, BLOGS AND NEWSLETTERS, DIGITAL ARTICLES, AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLACEMENTS ACROSS VARIED PLATFORMS. FURTHERMORE, ACTIVITIES WILL ALSO INCLUDE TOGETHER DIGITAL AD PLACEMENTS AND STORIES GENERATED IN THE MEDIA, CAMPAIGN-RELATED MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION (MORE THAN 5000), AT LEAST 12 VIRTUAL AND 10 IN-PERSON EVENTS, CONTINUAL AD PLACEMENTS ON MSM DATING SITES, ENGAGEMENT OF NEW NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNERS, AND MUCH MORE. THESE EFFORTS AIM TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF OPTIONS TO PROMOTE HIV TESTING, ENCOURAGE EARLY ENGAGEMENT IN AND ADHERENCE TO HIV TREATMENT, AND INCREASE THE USE OF EFFECTIVE PREVENTION TOOLS, INCLUDING PREP (AMONG OTHERS) TO REDUCE NEW HIV RATES AMONG OUR TARGET POPULATIONS