Things You Can Do to Commemorate National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Learn the basics about HIV and AIDS. Today, more tools than ever are available to prevent HIV. In addition to limiting your number of sexual partners, never sharing needles, and using condoms correctly and consistently, you may be able to take advantage of medicines that prevent and treat HIV, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylasis (PEP), and antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Are you Doing It? Testing for HIV? CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care and that people with certain risk factors get tested more often. After you have learned the basics about HIV testing, you can find a testing center in your area.

• Use our Doing It website to find a testing site
• Text your ZIP code to “KNOW IT” (566948)
• Call 1-800-CDC-INFO
• Talk to your doctor or health care provider
• Take a home HIV test 

Follow CDC social media accounts that promote HIV prevention and testing, and share and retweet messages

• CDC Facebook: Act Against AIDS and CDC HIV
• Twitter: @TalkHIV and @CDC_HIVAIDS
• Pinterest: Preventing HIV and STDs
• Instagram: Act Against AIDS

Other federal partners

• Follow AIDS.gov on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Follow the Office of Women’s Health on Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.
• Like the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on Facebook and follow on Twitter @HHSgov.

Use the hashtags #NWGHAAD and #BestDefense to spread awareness day messages about HIV prevention on social media. Here are a few samples:

• Mar. 10 is Nat’l Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – What’s your #BestDefense to prevent HIV? #NWGHAAD #DoingIt
• The #BestDefense is a Good Offense! Learn how to protect yourself and your partner from #HIV
• #NWGHAAD #DoingIt
• #DoingIt! Empower the women in your life to get tested for #NWGHAAD It’s their #BestDefense
• On #NWGHAAD, get tested. #DoingIt #BestDefense
• The #BestDefense is knowing your protection options. Learn if PrEP is right for you #NWGHAAD #DoingIt

Continue the online conversation with Act Against AIDS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The theme for NWGHAAD is “The Best Defense Is a Good Offense” – The Office on Women’s Health is encouraging women and girls to use their best defense against HIV by:

• practicing safe sex
• getting an HIV test
• avoiding abuse of drugs and alcohol
• talking to their doctors about PrEP and PEP if they may be at risk.

Join Partnering and Communicating Together (PACT) to Act Against AIDS organizations in helping to prevent HIV among women.

The Office on Women’s Health is hosting a NWGHAAD Walk in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 10 from 11:45am–1:30pm. Encourage local organizations, community partners, colleges, and sororities to host their own NWGHAAD walks.

Or host an NWGHAAD event in your community. Find important resources and information at http://www.womenshealth.gov/nwghaad/.