National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

Dear Colleague,

April 10, 2017

April 10th is National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD). This annual health observance was created to recognize the impact of HIV on young people and to highlight the important work being done across the country to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. NYHAAD serves as a reminder that investing in young people’s health and education is a critical step to achieving an AIDS-free generation.

We are encouraged that some risk behaviors have improved over the years. For example, fewer high school students are sexually active. Despite some successes, NYHAAD is an important reminder that the prevalence of other health risk behaviors remains high and that it is critical to tailor interventions to reach the youth at highest risk.

Education and public health agencies and other youth-serving organizations can work together to help young people adopt behaviors that prevent or reduce their risk for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and other poor health outcomes. Addressing HIV in young people requires that youth are provided the tools they need to reduce their risk, make healthy decisions, and access treatment and care, if needed.

In your efforts to support NYHAAD, we invite you to access CDC’s NYHAAD Resources web page. This web page contains information for planning communication activities that inform and educate partners, stakeholders, and communities about HIV in youth and the importance of recognizing the effect of the disease on young people. Included are graphics, sample social media posts, survey results, and links to additional resources.

We thank each of you, our partners, for the important work you do every day to improve the health of young people. We appreciate your efforts to support CDC’s HIV and STD prevention programs by connecting schools, communities, parents, and students in the conversation and prevention activities to reduce the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on young people. Together, we can all make a difference in youth HIV prevention!

Sincerely,

/Jonathan Mermin/
Jonathan H. Mermin, M.D., MPH
RADM and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS
Director
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/nchhstp

/Kathleen Ethier/
Kathleen Ethier, PhD
Director
Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth