Story 2024 – Building community and reducing HIV stigma

For Laurence Wilson, who is living with HIV, “it’s rewarding to meet people from all over who share your experiences.”

He was one of 20 people from 11 states who in 2023 participated in the Let’s Stop HIV Together (Together) campaign, which features stories of people affected by HIV and those invested in ending the epidemic.

FHI 360 supports Together by coordinating, developing and executing communication projects. The campaign, with more than 160,000 followers on social media, is designed to reduce HIV stigma and promote prevention, testing and treatment. In 2023, the @stophivtogether Instagram account had nearly 59 million impressions and over 54,000 engagements.

Getting involved in the campaign has “created a family of sorts” among the participants, says Laurence, who works at a behavioral health clinic. He was inspired by another participant to become more active in advocating for others living with HIV.

Campaigns like Together help reduce HIV stigma “because we all want to see someone that we can relate to in our media, in our government and in our places of worship,” says Laurence. “I’ve been strengthened and encouraged because of the campaign!”