HIV.gov Mission and Team

• To expand the visibility of timely and relevant Federal HIV policies, programs, and resources to the American public.
• To assess starting or increasing the use of new media tools by government, minority-serving organizations, and other community partners to extend the reach of HIV programs to communities at greatest risk.
• To increase knowledge about HIV and access to HIV services for people most at risk for or living with HIV.

HIV.gov receives planning guidance from the Federal HIV/AIDS Web Council (see below), a cross-agency planning group, and uses a communications plan to guide its activities.

Mission Statement for Digital Media: HIV.gov models the effective use of digital media to strengthen our public health work and empower partners to more effectively achieve their missions.

Vision Statement for Digital Media: Individuals at risk for or living with HIV, especially those in minority communities, can seamlessly use technology to access Federal programs and resources that improve their daily lives. Partners who work in HIV are well-informed about how digital technology can enhance their work and use these tools actively and efficiently.

Information Sharing

Unless otherwise noted, material presented on the HIV.gov website is considered Federal government information and is in the public domain. That means this information may be freely copied and distributed. We request that you use appropriate attribution to HIV.gov.

Many checklists and other materials on this site are available in PDF format for ease of duplication. Note that if material is adapted or modified, all HIV.gov citations and logos must be removed. If copyrighted content, documents, images, or other materials appear on HIV.gov, it will be noted, and the copyright holder must be consulted before that material may be reproduced.

Website managers are encouraged to link to HIV.gov. Please identify the site as providing one-stop access to U.S. Government HIV/AIDS information. The HIV.gov logo may be used in conjunction with your link. The logo is comprised of the following file: hivgov-badge.png (6.54 KB). For example, the following should be placed on a site to link to HIV.gov:

Visit HIV.gov: Access to U.S. Government HIV/AIDS information.

Sample Code:

<a href="https://www.hiv.gov"><img alt="HIV.gov: Access to U.S. Government HIV / AIDS information" src="https://www.hiv.gov/sites/default/files/images/hivgov-badge.png" title="HIV.gov Thumbnail image" /><br /></a>Visit <a href="https://www.hiv.gov">HIV.gov: Access to U.S. Government HIV/AIDS information.</a>

Planning

HIV.gov collaborates with departments and agencies across the Federal government to provide HIV/AIDS-related information to users. Content for this website is provided by:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services*
  • Office of the Secretary
    • Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA)
    • Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (CFBNP)
  • Administration for Community Living (ACL) / Administration on Aging (AoA)
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
  • Indian Health Service (IHS)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • National Cancer Institute (NCI)
    • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)
    • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
    • National Library of Medicine (NLM)
    • Office of AIDS Research (OAR)
  • Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
  • Office of Global Affairs (OGA)
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
    • Office of Adolescent Health (OAH)
    • Office of Disease Prevention and Heath Promotion (ODPHP)
    • Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP)
    • Office of Minority Health (OMH)
    • Office of Population Affairs (OPA)
    • Office of the Surgeon General (OSG)
    • Office on Women’s Health (OWH)
    • Regional Health Administrators
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
    • Digital Communications Division
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
  • Office of HIV/AIDS Housing
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • Civil Rights Division (CRD)
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
  • Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
• U.S. Department of State
  • Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator / The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• Social Security Administration (SSA)

*The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States Government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans. HHS is the managing sponsor of HIV.gov.

HIV.gov Team

 

 

Federal HIV/AIDS Web Council

HIV.gov convenes, facilitates, and receives critical senior level guidance from the Federal HIV/AIDS Web Council, which is composed of representatives from many of the departments and agencies listed above. The Council brings together web, content/program, and communications leads from Federal agencies that have HIV/AIDS portfolios. Council members plan and implement Federal digital communications efforts around HIV/AIDS. The Council also promotes coordination and collaboration to improve the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment messages and services via a variety of communications channels including social media.

The Federal HIV/AIDS Web Council is coordinated by Miguel Gomez, the Director of HIV.gov. The Council meets at least monthly via conference call and subsets of the Council often meet monthly. The Council name will change to the Federal HIV Web Council in June 2018. Read our HIV.gov blog to learn more about the work of our members.

Content Criteria and Notices

Conferences

HIV.gov uses these criteria (PDF 18 KB) to maintain a page to feature conferences of interest to the HIV and viral hepatitis community.

Webinars

HIV.gov uses these criteria (PDF 24KB) to maintain a page to feature webinars of interest to the HIV and viral hepatitis community.

Health Observances and Awareness Days

HIV.gov does not create or sponsor any HIV/AIDS or viral hepatitis awareness days. However, we offer information on a number of events and observances that promote awareness about HIV and viral hepatitis.

We also work with our colleagues across the U.S. government to cross-promote Federal activities for National HIV Testing Day (June 27) and World AIDS Day (December 1). We encourage everyone involved in health observances to assess what your stakeholders want and to evaluate your efforts to maximize reach and impact.

Information or links to awareness day resources appearing on HIV.gov are provided as a service to our visitors and do not represent endorsement by HIV.gov or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

HIV.gov History

These are a few of the milestones in the history of HIV.gov.

2020

• In January, womenshealth.gov and girlshealth.gov were added to HIV.gov’s hosting environment.
• HIV.gov reached more than 10,000 followers on Instagram.

2019

• HIV.gov added content to support the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America initiative announced during the State of the Union.
• In March, Vaccines.gov was added to HIV.gov’s hosting environment.
• In June, Locator.HIV.gov was redesigned and launched as a progressive web app (PWA).
• For World AIDS Day, HIV.gov partnered with Snapchat’s News Division again

2018

• HIV.gov added structured data to all of it’s blog posts using Google Tag Manager.
• In June, Locator.HIV.gov was one of the top 20 federal sites visited.
• On January 11, 2018, all HIV.gov digital products were upgraded to HTTP/2 protocol.

2017

• HIV.gov partnered with Snapchat's News Division to produce a nationwide Snapchat Story in recognition of World AIDS Day, which reached more than 1 million viewers.
• HIV.gov obtained its Authority To Operate (ATO) on May 31, 2017.
• In June 2017 AIDS.gov changed its name to HIV.gov and launched a new Drupal-based site that integrated the formerly separate website and blog.

2016

• Implemented forward secrecy and HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) across all AIDS.gov domains
• Earned A+ rating via SSL Labs Server Test
• Made our debut on Facebook Live from the 2016 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) from Durban, South Africa

2015

• Reached more than 300,000 followers on Twitter
• Launched the Positive Spin digital storytelling initiative
• Led communications support for the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated to 2020

2014

• Began working to develop a digital strategy for HHS
• Launched Virtual Office Hours
• Served as the U.S. Government’s communications vehicle at the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia
• Migrated all AIDS.gov domains to HTTPS by default
• Began using Instagram
• Launched the Black Voices blog series

2013

• Began working to support implementation of the Affordable Care Act
• Developed national technical assistance new media tools to support the roll-out of the White House’s HIV Care Continuum Initiative

2012

• Established the national New Media Declaration at the 2012 International AIDS Conference
• Worked with the White House and OMB to develop the Federal Digital Government Strategy
• Redesigned the AIDS.gov site using responsive design
• Began working with the GSA to educate Federal staff on responding to changes in the ways consumers access information on public health programs

2011

• Launched Facing AIDS, first responsive website
• Expanded our work to address viral hepatitis
• Began broadcasting video updates from the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

2010

• Launched the cross-agency HIV Testing Sites & Care Services Locator
• Began broadcasting video updates from the biennial International AIDS Conference on behalf of the U.S. Government
• Led communications efforts for the White House’s release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
• Launched the Federal webpages for the Strategy
• Designated as vehicle for transparency for the Strategy by the White House
• Began working with leaders in the community of black men who have sex with men (BMSM) to use new media to address rising HIV incidence rates

2009

• Inaugurated the Federal HIV/AIDS Web Council to bring together web, content, and communications leads from Federal agencies to promote new media planning, coordination, and cross-agency collaboration to increase the reach and effectiveness of HIV-related messages and services
• Offered our first social media lab at the CDC’s National HIV Prevention Conference

2008

• Launched the AIDS.gov blog to provide information on using new media to extend the reach of Federal HIV/AIDS messaging—with an emphasis on meeting the information needs of communities of color
• Began using Twitter
• Held first technical assistance session on new media tools for national HIV organization partners

2007

• Developed the U.S. Government’s first cross-agency podcast workgroup
• Began using Facebook to highlight Federal resources for those reaching and serving communities of color
• Held first technical assistance session on new media tools for senior Federal leadership

2006

• In partnership with the White House, held the first meetings of the AIDS.gov Planning Workgroup to plan the launch of AIDS.gov—bringing together Federal HIV, technology, and communications leadership for the first time
• Launched the program at an historic AIDS.gov-sponsored World AIDS Day gathering of African American and other southern minority community leaders in Memphis, TN

2005

• Secured permission from the White House to launch AIDS.gov