Women & Girls HIV Awareness Day – March 10th
March is Women’s History Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history: https://www.womenshistorymonth.gov/
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #NWGHAAD | MARCH 10th
Theme
Prevention and Testing at Every Age. Care and Treatment at Every Stage.
The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services leads National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (#NWGHAAD).
In the United States, about 23% of people living with HIV are women and, in 2021, women made up 20 percent of new diagnoses, according to CDC data. The highest number of new diagnoses were among women ages 25 to 44. Advances in testing, treatment, and prevention have resulted in progress toward the nation’s goal to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
The theme for NWGHAAD 2024 is: Prevention and Testing at Every Age. Care and Treatment at Every Stage. OWH continues this theme to reemphasize the need to further prevention efforts and ensure equity in HIV care and treatment. NWGHAAD focuses efforts on three of the priority populations outlined in the NHAS; Black women, and youth aged 13-24 years.
You can learn more and find additional resources from OWH here. View additional data for women and girls through the AHEAD dashboard here.
HIV is NOT a Crime
Support the NJ AIDS WALK now: www.njaidswalk.org/bp25
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February 28 is HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day, which was first observed in 2022 by the Sero Project in collaboration with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. This awareness day is an opportunity to amplify the voices of those who have been criminalized based on their HIV status.
Living with HIV is not a crime, but in more than 30 U.S. states, people are being imprisoned due to their HIV status. HIV criminalization laws consist of using a person’s positive HIV status in a criminal prosecution, increasing charges or punishments because the person has HIV.
Theme:
You care about ending HIV criminalization. You just don’t know it yet.
If someone is UNDECTECTABLE they are also UNTRANSMITABLE U=U!
This science has been verified without fault. Yet, people have been put into prison just for being HIV+ and having sex.
The following video by the CENTER for HIV LAW & PRIVACY can hopefully give you a better understanding as to why this is an important HIV Awareness Day: WATCH VIDEO NOW
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) and The Sero Project have partnered together to announce that February 28th is the first official HIV IS NOT A CRIME Awareness Day.
The date is significant as it ties a symbolic bow to the closing of National Black History Month and the beginning of National Women’s History Month – two demographics that are disproportionately impacted by both the HIV epidemic & HIV criminalization. This date is also a symbolic nod to the legacy of ETAF Founder, Elizabeth Taylor following the day of what would be her 90th birthday. Elizabeth had a tireless commitment to bring awareness and to fight the stigma of HIV/AIDS globally. So, this February 28th, the Sero Project and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation are proud to declare in unity that HIV IS NOT A Crime.
Thanks to scientific advancements, HIV is no longer a death sentence. And with the right medications, the risk of transmitting HIV from one person to another is nearly zero. Despite this therapeutic progress, people living with HIV in more than 30 states are being charged and branded as criminals because of their status, even when there is no risk of HIV transmission.
According to the CDC, these laws discourage HIV testing, increase stigma, and exacerbate disparities, noting they are outdated and do not reflect the significant advances to treat and prevent HIV transmission, such as effective therapeutics that can suppress the virus to the point of it being virtually undetectable, and therefore untransmittable (U=U). After over 30 years of HIV research and significant biomedical and pharmaceutical advancements to treat and prevent HIV transmission, many state laws are now outdated and do not reflect our current understanding of HIV.
Please take a stand with us today – add your name to our petition and receive news about HIV Is Not A Crime from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation: (CLICK HERE)
With support from Gilead Sciences, Inc and the collaboration of the Health Not Prisons Collective, ETAF has made the HIV IS NOT A CRIME campaign its priority advocacy initiative within the organization.
National Black AIDS Awareness – FEB 7th
As we move toward Black History Month, it is important to recognize and engage in
National Black AIDS Awareness
Engage, Educate, Empower: Uniting to End HIV/AIDS in Black Communities.
February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), which was first observed in 1999. This observance is a day to acknowledge how HIV disproportionately affects Black people.
Black communities have made great progress in reducing HIV. Yet racism, discrimination, and mistrust in the healthcare system may affect whether Black people seek or receive HIV prevention services. These issues may also reduce the likelihood of engaging in HIV treatment and care. NBHAAD is an opportunity to increase HIV education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among Black communities.
For more resources, you can check out our NBHAAD resource blog here. You can also share and use use CDC’s NBHAAD digital toolkit for social media posts in English and Spanish.
NBHAAD Videos and Blogs
During a recent visit to the historic Frederick Douglass House in southeast Washington, DC, the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) Director, Kaye Hayes, MPA, shared her thoughts for this blog about NBHAAD, community engagement, and its importance in ending the HIV epidemic. You can read more in our blog post here.
Ms. Hayes was joined by Dr. Timothy Harrison, OIDP’s Principal Deputy Director, and LCDR Neelam “Nelly” Gazarian, PharmD, MS, AAHIVP, Policy Analyst, OIDP, and they shared information about scaling up access to HIV prevention tools, such as PrEP, NBHAAD, and challenges we face in 2024. You can read more in our blog post here.
HOLIDAY HOURS
REOPENING with regular hours and services
on JANUARY 2, 2025
WORLD AIDS DAY – Dec1 & 2
WORLD AIDS DAY is DECEMBER 1st (every year)
This year we invite you to TWO FREE EVENTS
that commemorates those we lost from HIV/AIDS,
honors those who struggle with this disease today, and
celebrates those who are helping to bring this epidemic to an end.
REGISTER HERE so that we can prepare food and space.
ALL communities are being called to join us and be part of commemorating those we lost AND working together to end HIV epidemics. Remember. Educate. Defeat.
LatinX HIV Awareness Day
Take time today to let your friends know that you care by getting an HIV Test with them. Discuss if PrEP is something good for you or someone you know.
Visit your local AIDS Service Organization and find out how you can work together to make things better in your community!
Tómate el tiempo hoy para hacerles saber a tus amigos que te preocupas haciéndote una prueba de VIH con ellos. Analice si la PrEP es buena para usted o para alguien que conoce.
¡Visite su organización local de servicios para el SIDA y descubra cómo pueden trabajar juntos para mejorar las cosas en su comunidad!
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