New York City released its HIV Surveillance Annual Report, 2024 on World AIDS Day, marked each December 1. Noting that new diagnoses have slightly increased or remained stable the past four years, the New York City Health Department warns that “progress toward ending the HIV epidemic in New York City has slowed at a time when federal funding for HIV testing, treatment and prevention is under significant threat.”

What’s more, the new cases highlight inequalities in the epidemic, with higher HIV rates among Black, Latino and LGBTQ people along with those who live in poorer neighborhoods and have less access to housing and health care.

Specifically, the health department reports that 1,791 people were newly diagnosed in 2024. This marks a 5.4% increase from 2023. In total, the surveillance data show that 136,034 people report living with HIV. Of those, 68,600 have AIDS. (New York City’s population is nearly 8.5 million.)

To put the findings of NYC’s HIV report in a larger context, it can be helpful to visit AIDSVu.org, which creates graphics and maps based on federal HIV data (those numbers may vary slightly from the city’s reports but can nonetheless be instructive). In New York City in 2023, according to the AIDSVu, roughly 1,356 people for every 100,000 residents is known to be living with HIV. This is referred to as the HIV prevalence rate. In the U.S. Northeast region, the prevalence rate is 489 per 100,000. And nationally, it’s 395 people per 100,000.

It’s estimated that about 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the United States and that 13% of them don’t know their status. In addition, about 9% of country’s HIV population reside in New York City.

Key takeaways from the executive summary of the NYC HIV surveillance report, include:

  • Among the 1,791 people newly diagnosed with HIV in NYC in 2024, sociodemographic distributions were similar to those observed over the past five years:

    • 44% were Black, and 41% were Latino.

    • 75% were men, 20% were women, 4% were transgender women and less than 1% were transgender men or people with additional gender identities not previously listed.

    • 66% were ages 20 to 39, and 16% were ages 50 and older.

    • 42% lived in high- or very high-poverty ZIP codes at the time of diagnosis.

  • Among all people newly diagnosed with HIV for whom data on transmission category were available, 65% were men who have sex with men; among all men newly diagnosed with HIV with transmission category data, 91% were men who have sex with men.

  • Among people newly diagnosed with HIV who were interviewed and assessed by the Assess.Connect.Engage. (ACE) Team in 2024, 73% reported at least one supportive service need (for example, health insurance or housing).

  • In 2024, there were an estimated 85,800 people with diagnosed HIV in NYC and an estimated 5,500 people with undiagnosed HIV.

  • Slight improvements occurred in HIV care outcomes among people with HIV in NYC since 2019. In 2024, 87% of people with HIV were receiving HIV care, and among people receiving HIV care, 90% were virally suppressed.

People with HIV who achieve and maintain viral suppression experience slower disease progression, enjoy better overall health and are less likely to develop opportunistic illnesses. What’s more, people with an undetectable viral load don’t transmit HIV to others through sex. This is known as treatment as prevention, or Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U).

“In the last three decades, we’ve made immense progress toward ending the HIV epidemic in New York City, with new diagnoses down more than 70% since 2001. Yet this progress has stalled as new diagnoses have increased or remained stable for the fourth year in a row while lifesaving federal funding for ending the epidemic is in jeopardy,” said Acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, in the press statement. “Our health outcomes in New York City remain inequitable across race and ethnicity, neighborhood and income, and HIV is no exception. That’s why the NYC Health Department will keep working to ensure all New Yorkers receive the HIV care and prevention efforts they deserve.”

The report also spells out factors leading to the increase in diagnoses. The press release notes:

“Poverty, homelessness or housing instability, lack of adequate health insurance or employment and unmet supportive service needs are all additional factors that place people at increased risk of HIV. Stigma and discrimination related to HIV screening, diagnosis and care remain challenges. Misperception of HIV risk may also be a factor, with many people and their providers underestimating risk and missing opportunities to discuss HIV prevention during clinical visits.

“While the number of people taking PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis, to prevent acquiring HIV] has seen a 14-fold increase in New York City since 2014, inequities by age, gender and race and ethnicity continue, with lower PrEP uptake among people ages 20 to 29 years, women and Black and Latino people. Lastly, many of the groups most at risk for HIV have had negative experiences accessing care or have found the health care system to be untrustworthy.”

The report arrives as the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress aim to gutting federal HIV funds in the next year. This includes slashing support for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs, which provides care and treatment, and shuttering the HIV prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—if enacted, this would result in New York City losing $41 million in HIV funds, according to the city’s health department.

“At a moment when progress is slipping, federal leaders are considering cuts that would dismantle the very programs proven to prevent HIV, connect people to care, and keep communities healthy,” said Jeremiah Johnson, the executive director of PrEP4All, and a cofounder of Save HIV Funding, in a statement regarding the NYC HIV surveillance data.

He continued: “This isn’t just irresponsible—it’s dangerous. With cases rising, any reduction in HIV funding puts lives at risk, undermines decades of public health progress, and all but guarantees that these numbers will continue to climb. The message is unmistakable: Now is the time to strengthen and expand HIV funding, not weaken it. Anything less is a failure of leadership and a failure to protect the people who rely on these lifesaving programs every day.”