AIDSVu, which organizes HIV data into graphs and interactive maps, has updated its content to reflect HIV data at the state and county levels for 2021, the most recent year for which such data are available. What’s more, the interactive website also launched a first-of-its-kind public Faith Based Organization Locator for users.

The update includes new data highlighting the impact of HIV on people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing. The local data were compiled via a partnership between AIDSVu and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Medical Monitoring Project, according to an AIDSVu news release. About 17% of people living with HIV in 2021 experienced homelessness or unstable housing.

“AIDSVu’s goal is to show the current state of the HIV epidemic in a clear and accessible format,” said AIDSvu principal scientist Patrick Sullivan, DVM, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, in the news release. “This year, that includes the addition of these CDC data on homelessness and HIV-related stigma among people living with HIV, which shows that people with HIV disproportionately experience stigma and housing challenges related to their status.”

In addition, AIDSVu launched a Faith Based Organization (FBO) Service Locator, developed by Allison Mathews, PhD, executive director of the COMPASS Initiative Faith Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University. Mathews and other collaborators conducted a survey of FBOs and their HIV programming to get a better idea of the role faith communities play in HIV prevention, testing and care. The locator makes it easy for anyone to find HIV-related services offered by FBOs in their area.

“The role FBOs play in local communities puts them in a unique position to destigmatize the disease and influence their congregation to get tested and seek care and counseling services,” Mathews told AIDSVu. “By launching this locator, we can help connect individuals with the services they need from within their own communities.”

AIDSVu continually provides people with tool kits focused on various themes, including its National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2023 Toolkit. AIDSVu’s Annual Launch 2023 Toolkit, its most recent release, offers users the latest information on HIV by age, sex and race/ethnicity as well as social determinants of health, including poverty, income inequality and lack of health insurance. The website also offers data about PrEP use, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, the daily pills and long-acting injectables that prevent HIV.

For the first time, AIDSVu also added county-level HIV care continuum maps for linkage to care, receipt of care and viral suppression, according to a news release.

Visit AIDSVu.org for sharable infographics based on the latest HIV data as well as interviews with HIV leaders. For a collection of related articles in POZ, click #AIDSVu. Earlier this summer, AIDSVu Updates PrEP Use Data, Highlighting Disparities in HIV Prevention.

To learn more about Wake Forest University’s Faith Coordinating Center and the COMPASS initiative, see “‘Black Faith and HIV’ Aims to End the Epidemic by Engaging Religious Leaders” and “Watch 5 Videos Highlighting 5 Amazing HIV Groups in the South.”