National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

March 10

Hope, Health, and Healing: Overcoming Barriers to HIV/AIDS Treatment for Women and Girls

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of HIV on women and girls. First observed in 2005, NWGHAAD highlights ongoing efforts to improve HIV prevention, treatment, and care services among women and girls. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Women’s Health (OWH) leads the U.S. government’s NWGHAAD observance. This year's theme is "Hope, Health, and Healing: Overcoming Barriers to HIV/AIDS Treatment for Women and Girls."

Despite tremendous advances in HIV research over the last 40 years, women—particularly women of color and young women—remain disproportionately affected by HIV. Additional research is critical to understanding the best ways to prevent, treat, and cure HIV across women’s lifespans. It is also essential that HIV research prioritizes diverse populations to ensure all women and girls receive access to HIV services that will work for their needs and preferences.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) launched the HIV and Women Signature Program in 2023 to advance the NIH vision for women's health, a world in which all women and girls receive evidence-based HIV care, prevention, and treatment tailored to their unique needs, circumstances, and goals. The Signature Program recognizes the importance of community engagement to ensure that NIH HIV research reflects the concerns of all the different communities and populations that make up women and girls affected by HIV.

Social Media

Use the hashtag #NWGHAAD to follow the conversation on social media. Use OWH's NWGHAAD Social Media Toolkit—which includes sample messages, graphics, videos, and other resources—to help increase awareness about HIV and women and girls.

Additional Resources

NIH Office of AIDS Research

FY 2021-2025 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research: This Plan provides a roadmap for the NIH HIV research program, ensuring that funds are allocated in accordance with established NIH scientific research priorities. The Plan identifies women as a key population for HIV research.
HIV and Women Signature Program: The HIV and Women Signature Program, a joint effort of OAR and ORWH, aims to advance research focused on HIV and women. This program focuses on NIH research priorities related to HIV and women’s health research and the importance of investigating sex as biological variable in research. Resources include information on HIV and women across NIH, funding information, and more.
HIVinfo.NIH.gov is an online resource, maintained by OAR, that offers up-to-date HIV information to the public, people with HIV, people recently diagnosed, and those who care for them. Resources include infographics, fact sheets, and an HIV Source Women Collection with links to additional resources related to HIV and women. Some of the resources available are:

Office on Women’s Health

The HHS OWH leads the U.S. government’s NWGHAAD observance. The OWH NWGHAAD webpage provides information about this year’s theme and ideas to recognize NWGHAAD in your community.

HIV.gov

HIV.gov provides timely, relevant information on the breadth of federal HIV programs and resources from across the U.S. government. HIV.gov aims to increase knowledge about HIV and access to HIV services to people with or experiencing risk of HIV. Check out the HIV and Women’s Health Issues webpage to understand how HIV affects women differently.