April 10th is National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD).
The day aims to educate the public about the impact of HIV/AIDS on young people and to highlight the work being done to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Prevention and education are a critical step to achieving an AIDS-free generation.
Today’s young people are the first generation who have never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In the United States, one in four new HIV infections is among youth ages 13 to 24. Every month 1,000 young people are infected with HIV and over 76,400 young people are currently living with HIV across the country. While there has been much talk about an AIDS-Free Generation, we know that is not possible without our nation’s youth. Young people and their allies are determined to end this epidemic once and for all and this day is a way to acknowledge the great work young people are already engaging in to do so.