Friday, April 10, marks National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (#NYHAAD) 2026, a day for educating policymakers and the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people while highlighting HIV prevention, treatment and care campaigns for youth in the United States.
NYHAAD is led by Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit that partners with young people and their adult allies to promote effective adolescent reproductive and sexual health programs and policies in the United States and global south (countries with emerging economies in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania).
In 2023, young people ages 13 to 24 made up 18% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States. HIV also disproportionately impacts young people who are Black. African Americans make up about 14% of the total U.S. population. However, Black youth accounted for 47% of new HIV diagnoses among young people, and Black women and girls made up 50% of all young women and girls diagnosed with HIV in 2023, according to AIDSVu.org
To learn more about HIV in young people, read POZ’s “Youth and HIV.”
Through Advocates for Youth’s project #MyStoryOutLoud, NYHAAD ambassadors lead the charge for HIV justice visibility and action.
In the days leading up to NYHAAD, Advocates for Youth launched a week of action, including a tool kit, ambassador spotlights, a film screening and more.
On Wednesday, April 8, Advocates for Youth partnered with Decera Clinical Education to share a free medical education series for health care professionals titled “Paths Forward in PrEP: Overcoming Barriers to PrEP Engagement in Adolescents.” The online program features podcasts, downloadable slides and videos that demonstrate how health care professionals can help key populations—including adolescents, cisgender women, transgender men and women and racial and ethnic minority men who have sex with men—overcome barriers to PrEP.
On April 10, join Advocates for Youth and numerous others in using the social media tool kit to post online using the hashtag #NYHAAD.
HIV prevention also remains an issue of concern among adolescents and young adults. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an extremely effective intervention for preventing new HIV diagnoses, along with condoms and not sharing drug equipment. To date, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four forms of PrEP: Truvada and Descovy are daily pills; Apretude is a shot given every two months; and Yeztugo is a twice-yearly injectable that is highly effective in women, gay men and gender-diverse populations. Due to insufficient evidence, Descovy is not yet indicated as PrEP for cisgender women and trans men. Generic (and much cheaper) versions of Truvada are available.
According to AIDSVu.org, teenagers and young adults had the greatest unmet need for PrEP among all age groups in 2024. For every person ages 13 to 24 diagnosed with HIV, only nine people in the same age group use PrEP.
To learn more about PrEP, see the POZ Basics on HIV Prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
People with HIV who achieve and maintain viral suppression experience slower disease progression, enjoy better overall health and are less likely to develop opportunistic illnesses. What’s more, people with an undetectable viral load don’t transmit HIV to others through sex. This is known as treatment as prevention, or Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U). In 2023, AIDSVu.org found that only 69% of young people with HIV achieved undetectable viral suppression in 2023. That same year, only 37% of people ages 18 to 24 reported ever being tested for HIV, meaning many in this age group were potentially unaware of their HIV status.
For more POZ articles about young people and HIV, click #youth.
Click here to learn more about 2026 HIV and AIDS awareness days and for a printable poster.
