Harambee! 3.0: Addressing HIV-Stigma and Increasing HIV-Testing in Three African Immigrant Communities in King County

In King County, Washington, the new HIV diagnosis rate is 10 times higher among African immigrants than the general population. Many African immigrants report never testing for HIV due to various reasons, including inaccessible testing, stigma around HIV and testing, and concerns over jeopardizing their immigration status.

We partnered with the Ethiopian Community in Seattle, the Eritrean Health Board, and the Congolese United Foundation to deliver community-based HIV testing via health fairs at faith-based organizations in King County. We also worked to address community-level HIV-related stigma HIV through pilot implementation of an existing workshop intervention.

We held four health fairs from September 2023 to April 2024 at three faith-based organizations, including free point-of-care HIV and other health screenings. Participants completed questionnaires related to sociodemographics and HIV testing history and stigma. Additionally, we adapted and piloted a faith-based HIV stigma reduction intervention called Project FAITHH.

There were 105 health fair attendees and 11 Project FAITHH workshop participants across the three communities. Sixty (52%) were women, 62 (54%) were from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and 85 (74%) had health insurance at the time. Seventy-two (69%) participants underwent HIV testing at the health fairs. Commonly perceived barriers to accessing HIV testing include fear of discovering their results, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, and anxiety about HIV-related stigma.

Building relationships between academic researchers, community organizations, and faith-based organizations can improve the acceptability of and access to HIV testing among African immigrant communities by addressing perceived barriers to HIV testing.