Saturday, March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
The day is a nationwide observance that encourages people to take action in the fight against HIV/AIDS and raise awareness of its impact on women and girls. It is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH). It helps organizations across the country come together to offer support, encourage discussion, and teach women and girls about prevention of HIV, the importance of getting tested for HIV, and how to live with and manage HIV/AIDS.
Research done by the Centers for Disease Control has shown that HIV/AIDS infection in women is steadily rising, with a rate of 1 in 139 women infected and 280,000 women living with the disease in the United States. Comprising a quarter of all HIV/AIDS infections, an alarming 75 percent of infected women contract HIV/AIDS through heterosexual contact.
For more information on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day visit womenshealth.gov.
