National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2018 (April 10)

April 10, 2018

April 10, 2018 is National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (#NYHAAD). Use the CDC’s hashtag #DoingIt to encourage young people and their caregivers to get tested.
 
Capacity 4 Health joins with Advocates for Youth in observing this awareness day, it’s important to recognize the vulnerabilities experienced by young people:

• In 2015 (the most recent year statistics were available), young people aged 13 to 24 accounted for 1 in 5 new HIV cases.
• Young African American and Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual males are disproportionately affected.
• About 8% of all new AIDS diagnoses are made up of youth in the United States. 

The CDC says, “Addressing HIV in youth requires that we give young people the information and tools they need to reduce their risk, make healthy decisions, and get treatment and care if needed.”
 
Nonprofit providers and advocacy groups can help spread the word about the National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day on April 10 by:

• Using #NYHAAD and #GetTested in your social media updates.
• Share this video that features young people discussing why getting tested is so important.
• Issue a press release or write a blog post on April 10th to get the word out.

Resources:

• Find out more about National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day on the HIV.gov website
• Learn about the State of the Youth HIV Epidemic and find related fact sheets from WhatWorksInYouthHIV.org
• View the NYHAAD 2018 toolkit from Advocates for Youth
• Use the HIV Testing Sites & Care Locator from HIV.gov to get tested and find a provider near you
• Read the POZ articles on NYHAAD 2018, Generation PrEP? (about the uncertain future of the HIV prevention drug available), and Vote of Confidence (Supporting youth leaders to address HIV among Latinos)
• Read the Ryan White and National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day post from the Target Center
• Learn about HRSA’s Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) that is investigating social media interventions that can engage HIV-positive youth who are not in care to engage in such services.
• Read the HIV.gov blog post Viral Suppression Among Youth and People Who Inject Drugs Is Improving, But Results Are Still Below the National Average