Tamar Braxton Is Raising Awareness About The Power Of PrEP

Tamar Braxton, HIV, PrEP, sex, ESSENCE Fest, health, medication — Source: Photo Credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE

Tamar Braxton wants Black women to put their sexual health first. The Grammy-nominated singer, chef, and actress has announced a new brand partnership with Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical giant behind PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a medicine for people at risk of contracting HIV. Braxton, who revealed she was a proud user of PrEP in March, announced the exciting partnership at ESSENCE Festival’s Safe & Sexy Panel on the Global Black Economic Forum stage over the Fourth of July weekend. The music veteran will help educate and raise awareness about PrEP, along with several other HIV prevention options, to empower Black women and at-risk populations.

“I’m partnering with Gilead Sciences to help more Black women see PrEP as an option for protecting their health, their peace, and their pleasure. I’m all about dating with confidence, and Black women have stopped talking about HIV, and it needs to be part of our conversation again,” the songstress said, according to a press release.

What is PrEP?

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, is a medication that helps prevent HIV infection in individuals who are high risk due to sex or injection drug use. PrEP works by stopping the virus from establishing and spreading within the body. There are currently two FDA-approved daily oral medications for PrEP, as well as two FDA-approved long-acting injectable options. When taken as prescribed, PrEP is extremely effective, reducing the risk of contracting HIV from sexual activity by about 99%, and by at least 74% for people who inject drugs. However, its effectiveness is significantly lower when it is not taken consistently, according to HIV.gov.

The two oral medications approved for daily use are Truvada® and Descovy®. Truvada® (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), which also has generic versions available, is recommended for all individuals at risk of HIV through sex or injection drug use. Descovy® (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide) is specifically approved for sexually active men and is not indicated for women at risk through vaginal sex. In addition to pills, there are two long-acting injectable PrEP options. Apretude® (cabotegravir) is given every other month to adolescents and adults who weigh at least 77 pounds and are at risk through sexual activity. Yeztugo® (lenacapavir), administered twice a year, also begins with two days of oral medication to reach protective levels in the body and is intended for a similar at-risk population.

Why is PrEP crucial for Black women?

PrEP plays a vital role in protecting Black women’s health at a time when disparities in HIV outcomes are strikingly evident. Despite making up just 13% of the U.S. female population, Black women account for over half of all new HIV diagnoses among women. According to a 2024 KFF study, in 2022, non-Hispanic Black or African American females were 10 times more likely than non-Hispanic white females to receive an HIV diagnosis.

Additionally, Black people as a whole were diagnosed at more than seven times the rate of white individuals and accounted for 43% of deaths among people with HIV diagnoses. Although there was a 13% decline in deaths between 2010 and 2018, that trend reversed with a 15% increase from 2018 to 2022. Furthermore, the highest HIV death rates—where HIV is listed as the leading cause of death—continue to be among Black Americans, with a rate of 5.9 per 100,000 compared to 0.6 per 100,000 among white individuals.

Braxton revealed she was a proud user of PrEP in March.

Braxton, known for her openness on shows like Braxton Family Values and The Real, publicly shared that she began using PrEP in March. In a video posted to her Instagram account on March 19, the “Love and War” hitmaker revealed that she began using PreEP to protect herself while navigating Atlanta’s complicated, and at times, ruthless, dating scene.

“I’m not going for what everybody else is going for. I’m just not going to do that…Like, all of y’all is dating the same dude,” she explained. “I’m a one-woman man. And I ain’t sharing my man with the streets, although I’m on PrEP. And I would tell everybody to get on PrEP. Because prepare yourself for the streets.”

Notably, the Southern region of the United States continues to bear a disproportionate share of the HIV epidemic among Black Americans. In 2022, more than half (52%) of newly diagnosed HIV cases among Black individuals occurred in the South, KFF reported. By the end of that same year, 46% of all Black people living with HIV were also residing in the region. Georgia emerged as one of the states most heavily impacted, reporting 1,697 new HIV diagnoses, making it the second-highest in the nation for HIV cases that year.

Braxton is using her platform to help Black women stay healthy and remain sexually empowered while doing so, and we love to see it.