National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Event Ideas

Hold a Free Screening or Health Fair

Poster for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (PDF) Click to enlarge.

On National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10, 2009) hold a health fair or HIV/AIDS screening event for employees or members of your community. You can host the event at your office, a local hospital, community center or even a fitness center. Have a doctor or other healthcare professional on site to do a presentation, answer questions and administer the screenings. You can also distribute important health information and have fun activities, like a raffle.

Have a Proclamation Issued

Work with a local government official, like your mayor or congressman, to have a proclamation signed. For information on how to get a proclamation issued, please visit www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/planning-materials/. Once you have the proclamation, hold a media event and invite reporters from your local newspapers and TV and radio stations. You may also want to consider inviting a the mayor or congressman to sign the proclamation at the event and a local health expert who can speak about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in your community. Don't forget to display and disseminate National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day materials and have the proclamation printed on poster board.

Work With Your Local Media

Media attention is a great way to create awareness of HIV/AIDS and its impact on women in your community. Using the "How-To Guide For Media Outreach," available at www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/planning-materials/, reach out to reporters at local media outlets and work with them to cultivate a story. Ideally you should be able to offer prevalence data, a human interest story (i.e. a women who can share a personal, compelling story about her struggle with HIV/AIDS) and experts who can speak to the issue of HIV/AIDS, such as someone from your organization or a health expert. Make sure the reporter mentions that March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day!

Organize a Walk to Raise Awareness

Much like the breast cancer walks held around the country to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrate National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by organizing a 5K walk. The walk can raise money for a certain HIV/AIDS group or it can be aimed at increasing awareness. Consider having the event start and end at a community health center that offers HIV/AIDS screenings and be sure to hand out HIV/AIDS information and hang National Women's and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day posters, available at www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/planning-materials/.