New Report on People Living with HIV to Guide HIV Response in Central Texas

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-Travis County Fast-Track Cities, a global health initiative localized in Central Texas, has published its People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 report. The report is the culmination of a two-year effort to better understand how stigma affects people living with HIV/AIDS and will guide future efforts to reduce this barrier to care.

“This project was an opportunity to hear directly from those living with HIV and learn what changes we can make to ensure people are able to receive the care they need, in the setting right for them,” said Michelle Osorio, HIV Funding Specialist for Austin Public Health and the HIV Resources Administration. “As we’ve seen with this report, the issue isn’t always the logistics of getting resources where they’re needed – it's fighting the stigma that can keep folks away from lifesaving care.”

Starting in August 2025, a team of nine interviewers, people living with HIV themselves, conducted in-person interviews with 113 people living with HIV across the 5-county area to document and better understand HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

The key findings from these interviews were:

• Internalized stigma remains common.
• Stigma creates barriers to care and treatment.
• Disclosure can bring support, but confidentiality concerns remain.
• Stigma affects social and economic participation.

In the coming months, Austin Public Health will convene community members to create an advocacy plan based on results from the Stigma Index. The advocacy plan will inform action items to combat HIV stigma and discrimination in Central Texas and support the health and well-being of all community members, including people living with HIV.

The full report can be found online here.

Learn more about HIV and resources for testing and treatment in the Austin area at the HIV Ends With U website.

About Fast Track Cities 
Fast-Track Cities is a global partnership with the goal of ending urban HIV epidemics by getting to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero HIV-related stigma. Launched on World AIDS Day 2014, the partnership also advances efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) epidemics and eliminate viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV) in urban settings by 2030.