March 10, 2007, is the second annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Sponsored by the Office on Women's Health, this is a day to raise awareness among women and girls about HIV/AIDS, to stress the importance of knowing their HIV status, and to promote healthy behaviors that reduce the risk of HIV infection.
Although the number of people diagnosed with AIDS in the United States each year has decreased by 50 percent over the past two decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the incidence of HIV/AIDS in women has increased at an alarming rate. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has grown into a formidable health threat to women in the United States, particularly young women and women of color. According to the CDC's 2005 Surveillance Report of Cases of HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States, there were 45,699 new AIDS cases reported in 2005. Of those new AIDS cases, 11,710 (26%) were in women. In 2005, of all estimated cases of AIDS in American women, an estimated 82 percent of these new cases were in African-American (66%) and Hispanic (16%) women.
The following links are resources related to National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, including information on HIV/AIDS in women and girls, HIV prevention, and clinical trials as well as AIDSinfo resources. We hope you will find this page helpful in your efforts to educate, motivate, and mobilize your community in the fight against HIV/AIDS.