What is NYHAAD?
National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (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. Check out our social media toolkit to uplift Saturday, April 10, 2021.
From April 5-9, we’re coordinating a series of events & activities in the lead-up to National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (#NYHAAD) on Saturday.
MONDAY
Stay tuned to our Instagram account @advocatesforyouth to learn more about the NYHAAD campaign, our values, and our demands. In addition, throughout the week we’ll be highlighting several members of the NYHAAD Collective—a bold group of young people leading HIV prevention, treatment, and care campaigns in their communities.
TUESDAY at 7:00pm EST: Hidden Figures: The Stories That Almost Went Untold Q&A with Trans Model & Youth Activist Jessica Zyrie
Check out our Instagram account @advocatesforyouth where we’ll post an IGTV from Jessica Zyrie (she/her, @thejessicazyrie). Zyrie is a visible black trans social activist, model and works as a case manager at the 3rd largest LGBTQ+ nonprofit in the nation. Zyrie has used her platform to advocate for equality across the intersectionality of race and gender identity. She became public with her transition in October 2016, and has used her publicity to increase visibility and education for the community. She will conduct a presentation on transgender history, discuss “Hidden Figures,” and intersectionality. This IGTV will lead up to an Instagram live question & answer at 7:00pm EST.
THURSDAY – REPEAL HIV Discrimination
Join us for a day of action urging Congress to pass the Repeal HIV Discrimination Act. You can send a letter to your members of Congress here, and share the action online.
Then join us for an Instagram Live conversation featuring NYHAAD Collective member and Engaging Communities Around HIV Organizing (ECHO) youth activist Eunice Mejiadeu (she/her). Eunice will interview Advocates for Youth’s Domestic Policy Coordinator, Kamilah Tisdale, about the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, sponsored every year by Representative Barbara Lee. Rep. Lee will be delivering a message to our followers about the bill earlier that day. Urge your legislator to co-sponsor the REPEAL Discrimination Act here.
FRIDAY – 12:00pm EST Provider-centered HIV Toolkit w/ Bros in Convo
Join us to celebrate The Bros in Convo Initiative as they launch a youth-centered, culturally-competent HIV social media toolkit for health providers. Stay tuned to The Bros in Convo Initiative on Instagram (@brosinconvo) for the launch around 12:00pm EST. The Bros in Convo Initiative is a community-based and led organization fiscally sponsored by Miracle of Love, Inc., dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of Central Florida’s Black and Brown young bisexual, gay, and same gender loving community. The organization also plans to conduct an Instagram live on Friday.
FRIDAY – 9:00pm EST Film Screening & Youth Panel w/ BLACK, GAY, stuck at home.
Join us for a film screening and youth panel in partnership with BLACK, GAY, stuck (bgsah). bgsah is a project created by Michael Ward (he/him, @michaelxward) and Joshua Henry Jenkins (he/him, @joshjenks). As the world was asked to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, they recognized that a need for affinity and community remains. Their effort to both gather folks together but to also center Black queer film. Head over to http://www.bgsah.com/ for key updates about the feature film and panel featuring two NYHAAD Collective members.
SATURDAY – Join us online using #NYHAAD
April 10th is National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day! Join us and thousands of accounts across the country in posting online using #NYHAAD. We encourage you to (1) use the NYHAAD toolkit here for inspiration, (2) share the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Action link here, and/or (3) encourage folks to sign up for our Medical Mentorship Toolkit by sharing this link on social media. Remember to use #NYHAAD in your posts, no matter what social media network you choose.
We hope you can join us for all or some of these events and activities!
Why is NYHAAD important?
Today’s young people are the first generation who have never known a world without HIV and AIDS. The 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.
What is the NYHAAD Collective?
The National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD) Collective is comprised of youth activists leading HIV prevention, treatment, and care campaigns in their communities. Their campaigns highlight the challenges faced by young people living with and impacted by HIV, offer insight on how they combat stigma and discrimination on local, state, and federal levels, and enhance the awareness among physicians, policymakers, and youth-serving organization staff, etc. about the existing disparities.
What are the campaign demands?
➤ 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; ➤ Updating sex education curricula, which includes medically accurate information about HIV.