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Welcome to the December issue of The Action Report!

As we close out 2025, we want to express our heartfelt appreciation for your unwavering commitment and the meaningful actions that have defined the Coalition's impact this year.

We're incredibly proud of everything we've accomplished together over the past three years. The dedication, innovation, and collaboration you bring to this work are extraordinary — and we're only growing stronger as we look ahead to 2026.

Wishing you a restful and rejuvenating end of the year. Happy holidays!

Welcome New Member:

Our Members in Action

Several member companies honored World AIDS Day this year with special activations, employee events, articles, and social media posts to raise visibility. Here are some highlights:

• Alchemy celebrated the work of community health workers who break down barriers that pharmacy and medication alone can’t solve, such as helping people living with HIV navigate insurance and appointments, overcome language and cultural barriers, and more.
• Avita Care Solutions invited team and community members to join them in honoring those we’ve lost to HIV/AIDS, supporting those living with HIV, and advocating for a world free of stigma, discrimination, and barriers to care.
  
• Chevron partnered with the National AIDS Memorial to educate, reduce stigma, and implement powerful storytelling initiatives that honor lives lost and inspire action. Chevron employees and retirees have designed and developed quilts that are displayed at multiple Chevron locations. 
• CVS Health partnered with U.S. Business Action to End HIV by hosting a briefing for employers about how they can take action on World AIDS Day and year-round. The event featured leaders from CVS Health, Mercer, RADCube, and ViiV Healthcare.
  This December, CVS Health is also broadcasting a World AIDS Day message featuring the U=U (Undetectable equals Untransmittable) public health message at 7,400+ stores nationwide with the goal to increase HIV awareness to consumers. ‍
• Gilead Sciences shared a powerful video to recognize the lives touched by HIV – from San Francisco to Africa and everywhere in between — spotlighting the importance of prevention, because treatment alone cannot end an epidemic. 
  Additionally, Gilead premiered a one-hour HIV Unwrapped documentary on Hulu to show the link between New York Fashion Week and HIV, where science, fashion, and advocacy collided to bring attention to the need for HIV prevention.‍
• in-Hale Media & Entertainment honored World AIDS Day by headlining an event in Washington, DC, with a screening and 20th anniversary celebration of their film Dirty Laundry, and the world premiere of Come Together: Art’s Power for Change, a new short documentary exploring the film’s creation, legacy, and cultural impact. The evening honored the late filmmaker Maurice Jamal, highlighted the role of creative storytelling in challenging HIV stigma, and brought together leaders from the arts, advocacy, and civic communities for reflection and celebration.‍
• Mercer shared an article on their blog outlining the history of World AIDS Day and shared educational resources like the World AIDS Day Toolkit for Employers with clients to encourage them to take action.‍
• MISTR was highlighted in a new Emory University study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, about how telehealth is reshaping the HIV prevention infrastructure in the United States.‍
• OraSure supported local communities by funding Community Healthcare Network to help continue the organization’s decades long commitment to HIV prevention and care by offering free and fast HIV testing at two NYC locations. No appointment needed!‍
• Versante highlighted the community-based organizations, including Atlanta community partner P.O.W.E.R. ATLANTA, on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS response. Versante partners with these orgs to offer AI-powered outreach, private stigma-free syndemic screening, and consistent connection to trusted care providers — ensuring that people facing barriers from care are never left behind.‍
• ViiV Healthcare amplified the U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) message through impactful storytelling, dispelling HIV myths and shattering stigma while working toward a future where transformational innovation and strong partnerships make HIV a smaller part of people's lives, and ultimately achieve a functional cure.‍
• Walgreens marked World AIDS Day by celebrating 15 years of partnership with KFF's Greater Than HIV initiative. This collaboration has provided over 99,000 free rapid HIV tests since 2011 and hosted its largest-ever National HIV Testing Day event at over 540 Walgreens locations across 46 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., in 2025. Walgreens is also proud to have trained more than 3,000 pharmacists to deliver stigma-free HIV care.

Our Coalition in Action

Five Years Left: Business Coalition Marks World AIDS Day With 550+ Commitments To End HIV by 2030

AP News featured U.S. Business Action to End HIV, highlighting how 95 companies are playing a growing role in the push to end HIV by 2030 through expanded testing, prevention, and workplace initiatives. The article points to concrete results, from nationwide free testing to rapid PrEP uptake, as evidence that business-led action is translating into real-world impact.

Opportunities for Action

We are proud to share two new resources, produced in collaboration with GLAAD and first introduced at our Oct. 8 meeting with media and entertainment industry leaders, focused on the power that storytelling has to shift HIV narratives. These resources are designed to offer steps to reshape storylines on screen and support creative professionals behind the scenes:

• Hollywood & HIV: Five Tips for Authentic, Impactful HIV Storytelling: A quick guide for creators on telling modern, stigma-free stories that reflect the real lives of people with HIV.

• Hollywood & HIV: Five Tips for Media and Entertainment Employers: Practical steps for entertainment industry employers to provide stigma-free HIV prevention, care, and support.

2025 Impact Report

Our annual report offers a snapshot of how business leaders expanded access to HIV prevention and care, dismantled stigma, and strengthened their communities in 2025.

Here's what's inside:

📈 Impact at a glance: Key milestones, including member growth and engagement.

✅ Company commitments: Member action pledges across six areas of impact.

🏛️ Industry cohort highlights: Our progress on policy, testing, and culture.

🌆 Local action: How our regional chapters mobilized their communities.

💡 Company action spotlights: How leading employers took action to help end HIV.

🏆 Recognition and reach: Awards and media coverage recognizing our work.

HIV in the News

Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day 

The Trump administration has directed the State Department and its grantees not to use government funds or public communication channels to commemorate World AIDS Day, framing the move as part of a broader strategy to modernize infectious disease efforts. Critics warn that this decision, alongside cuts to U.S. HIV programs, could worsen the global epidemic and recalls the early neglect of HIV as a public health crisis. (NYT)

Man Unexpectedly Cured of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant

A man has become the seventh person cured of HIV after a stem cell transplant for blood cancer. Notably, using donor cells that were not fully resistant to the virus shows that HIV-resistant stem cells may not be essential for a cure. This case, along with the earlier "Geneva patient," suggests that carefully matched donor cells can eliminate the patient's remaining infected immune cells, expanding potential options for stem cell–based HIV cures. (NewScientist)

Alabama Artist's TV Series Pitch Featuring People With HIV as Heroes Wins 2nd in National Competition

Birmingham artist Carlton V. Bell II uses his work to spotlight marginalized communities, warning that people living with HIV are being increasingly abandoned amid government cuts and rising stigma. As a Black queer creative living with HIV, he sees harmful rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ+ policies deepening isolation and blocking access to care. (AL.com)

Military Asks Fourth Circuit To Let It Disqualify Applicants With HIV 

The military asked the Fourth Circuit to reinstate its ban on enlisting people with HIV, arguing that medical needs, deployment limits, and costs justify excluding even those who are asymptomatic and undetectable. Plaintiffs and advocacy groups counter that the policy is outdated, discriminatory, and inconsistent with medical evidence and the court's own prior rulings. (Courthouse News Service)

NYC's Yearly HIV Report Shows Slight Rise in Cases Amid Looming Federal Budget Cuts

New York City saw a 5.4% rise in HIV diagnoses in 2024, continuing a multi-year trend. The increase disproportionately affects Black and Latino residents in high-poverty areas, highlighting persistent racial, socioeconomic, and structural barriers to care. (Gothamist)

Shapiro Administration Cuts HIV Funding, Risking Housing, Medications for Dozens in Southcentral PA 

A mid-year budget cut by Pennsylvania's Department of Health could force regional HIV service providers to reduce support for housing, prescriptions, and other essential services, putting nearly 100 people with HIV at risk of homelessness in South Central Pennsylvania. Officials cite rising medication costs and program enrollment as reasons, warning that the cuts could worsen health outcomes and hinder efforts to combat HIV despite high rates of timely care in the state. (Witf)

Thank you for your commitment and leadership. Let's keep up the momentum!

The Health Action Alliance is solely responsible for the content of this page and maintains full editorial control of its resources.

U.S. Business Action to End HIV was founded in 2022 by the Health Action Alliance, with support from ViiV Healthcare, to mobilize a growing coalition of private sector partners committed to filling gaps and accelerating progress to help end HIV in the U.S. by 2030.

The Health Action Alliance is a unique collaboration between leading business, communications, and public health organizations to help employers navigate evolving health challenges, improve the health of workers, and engage with public health partners to build stronger, healthier communities. Founded in 2021 by the Ad Council, Business Roundtable, CDC Foundation, the de Beaumont Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, HAA's network now includes more than 11,000 employers nationwide, reaching a quarter of U.S. workers.