National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – March 20, 2025

History of National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The National Native H.I.V./AIDS Awareness Day has been around since 2007 as a way to place attention on the efforts to reduce H.I.V. among American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, and show support for people with H.I.V. in these communities. The event is planned by the National Native H.I.V. network to promote H.I.V. education, testing, prevention, and treatment in Native communities.

The invention of this campaign was necessary because of the challenges faced by the Native American people which creates difficulty in prevention and providing the best care for members living with H.I.V. Some of these challenges include awareness of their H.I.V. status, alcohol and illicit drug use, data limitations, sexually transmitted diseases, stigma and confidentiality, socioeconomic issues, and cultural diversity. These challenges especially, stigma, fear, discrimination, and homophobia can place many at higher risk, including those who live in rural communities or on reservations.

In October of 2006, the National Native C.B.A. Network which was made of three collaborating bodies (Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Educations (CA7AE), Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (I.T.C.A.), and National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (N.N.A.A.P.C.) presented a resolution to the National Congress of American Indians for National Native H.I.V./AIDS Awareness Day, and it was approved.

The date of the Spring equinox was set aside as it marks the period of rebirth and balance.
Funding for the three bodies came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) to provide capacity-building assistance to Native organizations, tribes, state health departments, and any other organization serving Native populations. Since the founding of N.N.H.A.A.D., the collaborative partnership has grown to include Begay Consulting, Center for Prevention and Wellness, Council Oaks Training and Evaluation, Inc., E.T.R’s Community Impact Solutions Project, Florida Department of Health — H.I.V. Section, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, as well as a 12-member materials review committee to review all products developed for N.N.H.A.A.D.

Sadly, even after the holiday was created, HIV statistics have not improved for this sector, it was reported that of the 39,782 H.I.V. diagnoses in the United States in 2016, 1% (243) were among American Indians & Alaska Natives. Of those, 81% (198) were men and 19% (45) were women. Of the 198 H.I.V. diagnoses among American Indians & Alaska Natives men in 2016, most (77%; 152) were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact. Most of the 45 H.I.V. diagnoses among American Indians & Alaska Natives women in 2016 were attributed to heterosexual contact (69%; 31). In 2016, 102 AIs/ANs were diagnosed with AIDS. Of them, 75% (77) were men and 24% (24) were women. But with constant efforts, the numbers decline daily.