Today, OutNebraska is proud to join several organizations across the country in recognizing National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD). NYHAAD annually on April 10th, is a day to educate the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people. The day also highlights the HIV prevention, treatment, and care campaigns of young people in the U.S.
Today’s young people are the first generation who have never known a world without HIV and AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2018, youth aged 13 to 24 made up 21% of the 37,832 new HIV diagnoses in the United States (US) and dependent areas. Young people living with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in care and have a suppressed viral load. Addressing the impact of HIV on young people requires they have access to affirming, culturally competent, and medically accurate resources and tools.Â
OutNebraska stands in partnership with young people impacted by and living with HIV in increasing empathy and reducing stigma about HIV and its impact on young people on campus and in communities; affirming policies around HIV care, treatment, and prevention on campus and in communities; decriminalizing HIV; accessing HIV services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), on-campus and in communities without parental consent; and updating sex education curricula, which includes medically accurate information about HIV.