National Youth HIV + AIDS Awareness Day

At AIDS 2012, the international AIDS conference, youth advocates announced the inauguration of National Youth HIV + AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD) to be marked on April 10, 2013.

In establishing this observance, Advocates for Youth and the eleven other founding partnersExit Disclaimer are recognizing the key role of youth in our collective response to HIV. The organizers note that “the creation of National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is a step toward addressing the needs of young people in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”

On this day, HIV.gov calls attention to previously published resources that can help inform discussion and action. These are:

Vital Signs Report: HIV Infection, Testing, and Risk Behaviors Among Youths — United States

On November 27, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data to highlight the impact of HIV among youth in the United States. Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent more than a quarter of new HIV infections each year (26 percent) and most of these youth living with HIV (60 percent) are unaware they are infected, according to the Vital Signs report. The most-affected young people are young gay and bisexual men and African-Americans, the report says. Among the recommendations in the report is that “all youth should know how HIV is transmitted and prevented, understand what puts them at risk for HIV, and be tested if they are at risk.”

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy

This is the nation's first-ever comprehensive coordinated HIV/AIDS roadmap with clear and measurable targets to be achieved by 2015. The Strategy notes that “To better educate the American people about HIV/AIDS, the following is needed: Promote age-appropriate HIV and STI prevention education for all Americans: Too many Americans do not have the basic facts about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Sustained and reinforcing education is needed to effectively encourage people across the age span to take steps to reduce their risk for infection.”

How are you addressing the impact of HIV on youth? What would you like to say to the young people in your lives about youth and HIV? For more information on HIV and youth, visit this CDC page. For more information on NYHAAD click hereExit Disclaimer.