National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day: February 7
February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day (NBHAAD). This annual observance day was created to raise awareness among African Americans about HIV/AIDS and its devastating impact on African American communities. The day is part of a national mobilization effort to get African Americans to learn more about the threat posed by the disease, get tested, get treated and make a commitment to fight HIV/AIDS.
NBHAAD is a day to remember those infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic-especially African Americans who are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Since 1981 when the first cases were diagnosed, AIDS has killed more than 20 million people, with African Americans accounting for 40 percent of those deaths. In addition, in the United States African Americans account for more than 49 percent of the more than 1 million AIDS cases that have been diagnosed, though they make up only 13 percent of the population.