Today is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day, a day that often flies under the radar. What might surprise you is that Latino gay men now account for the highest number of new HIV cases in America. In 2022, Latinx individuals represented nearly one-third of all new HIV diagnoses, leading the Latinx community to surpass other racial and ethnic groups for the first time since the start of the HIV epidemic in the country. This is despite Latinx people making up only 19% of the U.S. population.
It’s an urgent urban health policy issue for every city in the U.S. — because which city doesn’t have a vibrant Latinx community? The counties identified as priority jurisdictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for national HIV prevention efforts can play a particularly important role in addressing this public health crisis.
As a recent White House convening underscored, Latinx communities continue to face disproportionately high rates of HIV, driven by structural inequities, stigma and limited access to culturally responsive care. The summit highlighted the pressing need for cities across the U.S. to implement community-driven solutions that effectively address barriers to accessing life-saving HIV prevention and care services.
Significant progress has been made in the past few years, but government investment is vital to support those at the frontlines of HIV prevention and care: the Latinx peer workforce.
Who are Latinx peers?
Nationally, Latinx peers serve as promotores, community health workers, peer navigators and volunteers, all of whom possess the lived experience needed to connect with their communities. Their high degree of credibility makes them particularly effective in reaching marginalized populations compared to traditional public health methods.
Their community connection ensures that HIV prevention strategies reach those most impacted by the epidemic, including Latinx sexual and gender minorities, recent immigrants, women and youth. Peer workers also play an essential role in reaching people with limited access to healthcare systems, such as individuals in underserved urban areas. As Next City recently reported, promotores in New Jersey have helped Latinx communities access abortion care and other reproductive health services.
Peers promote the use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV), which remains underutilized among Latinx communities, adherence to ART (antiretroviral therapy), and encourage regular HIV testing. They guide individuals through complex healthcare systems, assisting with health insurance navigation, language services and ensuring that resources are readily available to those most in need.
Research shows peer-led programs typically lead to better health outcomes than traditional public health strategies. These peer-led approaches build trust and address broader social determinants of health, such as housing insecurity, employment precariousness, and access to public services. Peers provide holistic support, coordinating care that fosters long-term engagement with healthcare and social services, both of which are fundamental for effective HIV prevention and treatment efforts.
By normalizing sexual health conversations in Latinx communities, peer advocates reduce stigma in both healthcare settings and the broader community, creating a ripple effect that motivates others to seek care, get tested, and learn more about HIV. Seeing someone from your own community advocating and providing support — whether they are living and thriving with HIV or successfully navigating prevention strategies — can help diminish fear, raise awareness and overcome stigma.
What Latinx peer workers need
Despite Black and Brown peer workers’ public health contributions, they continue to face significant barriers that hinder their ability to perform effectively and expand their impact. Peer workers need comprehensive training, environments that honor their lived experiences and identities, and access to professional development and fair compensation.
Research in Chicago and San Francisco shows that Latinx gay, bisexual, and transgender volunteers face unique workplace stressors, including burnout, stigma and discrimination related to their racial identity, sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV status. Similar stressors have been reported in Atlanta among Black gay peer workers across HIV/AIDS organizations, who, in addition to burnout, expressed experiencing stress related to minimal career advancement opportunities, insufficient financial compensation, tokenism, lack of mental health support or supervision, and limited upward mobility within their organizations.
These unmet needs demand action from policymakers, city leadership and organizations to provide Latinx peer workers with career growth, fair compensation, mental health services and effective supervision. Organizations can provide paid time off for physical and mental health breaks to address burnout. Policymakers can make peer-delivered HIV services universally reimbursable by Medicare and Medicaid, ensuring peers receive fair compensation for their work. Healthcare delivery programs can offer non-financial incentives, such as educational rewards and recognition by colleagues so peer workers feel valued and supported in their positions.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s recent guide recommends reducing excessive workloads and combating workplace discrimination among a set of strategies for preventing burnout in the behavioral health workforce. Similar policies are needed to ensure fair treatment, job security and emotional wellbeing for Latinx peers in the HIV workforce.
How cities can investing in the Latinx peer workforce
The White House, in collaboration with the CDC and other federal agencies, has set an ambitious but necessary national goal of reducing new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. To end the HIV epidemic in Latinx communities, cities must embed peer leadership within their public health strategies and make a robust investment in peer-led, culturally relevant HIV interventions.
Building a Latinx peer workforce goes beyond improving individual health outcomes; it empowers those leading HIV prevention and care efforts, ensures their retention and long-term commitment, and strengthens community health.
Leaders must create policy frameworks that fund peer-led programs, particularly in urban areas where services are needed to engage those most impacted by the HIV epidemic. Developing the Latinx peer workforce is both a public health imperative and a commitment to equity and social justice.