Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Proclamation <br /> WHEREAS, "National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day" is a nationwide observance that calls <br /> on people to take action to invest in the health, education, and leadership of young people; and <br /> WHEREAS, more than 40 years into the epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and <br /> Prevention estimates that in the United States, more than 1.2 million people are living with HIV, <br /> and 31,800 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2022; and <br /> WHEREAS, in 2022, youth aged 13 to 24 years composed 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses <br /> in the United States; and <br /> WHEREAS, young people living with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in <br /> care and have a suppressed viral load; and <br /> WHEREAS, the majority of young people living with HIV ages 13 to 24 are unaware of their HIV <br /> status; and <br /> WHEREAS,African-American youth are most impacted by the epidemic, representing a majority <br /> of new transmissions in young people ages 13 to 24, with young African-American gay and <br /> bisexual men even more severely affected; and <br /> WHEREAS, young gay and bisexual men accounted for the majority of all new HIV diagnoses <br /> in people aged 13 to 24 in 2022; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Nation's largest Federal program dedicated to providing care and treatment for <br /> people living with HIV was named after Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana who helped <br /> educate the Nation about HIV and AIDS in the 1980s; and <br /> WHEREAS, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy highlights the fact that young people often <br /> experience worse HIV outcomes on status awareness, pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake, and <br /> health outcomes; and <br /> WHEREAS, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy recommends children and young adults who are <br /> living with HIV need tailored and often more intensive medical and support services to support <br /> them as they grow and become young adults; <br /> NOW THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim April <br /> 10, 2026 as Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in Orange County, recognizing young people's right <br /> to education, prevention, treatment, and care, and to live without criminalization, discrimination, <br /> oppression, and stigma. <br /> This the 7th day of April, 2026. <br /> Jean Hamilton, Chair <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />