Congresswoman Barbara Lee Joins Call for a National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

IAC stressed the need to target prevention and testing outreach to "key populations," including gay men, and, in this country, young black gay men -- because infection rates are already so high.

Washington, D.C.-based Advocates for Youth responded July 24, calling for a National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, to be observed annually on April 13. We're proud to see the model NAPWA pioneered with National HIV Testing Day put to a new use, and we hope the new Awareness Day all success in reaching the "key populations" who need it most.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a great national leader on HIV issues, called August 1 for Federal recognition of the new Awareness Day. A press release from her office urged bipartisan support for H.R. 6138, the Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Act of 2012, and continued, "While at the conference, I saw first-hand that our youth are a key element in our fight to turn the tide against AIDS. ... Recognizing the central role young people play in the fight is an important step in addressing the unequal burden young people carry in this epidemic. That is why I am calling for a National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day."