Support Childrens and Womens AIDS Awareness Day, March 10, 2009

You've got the power to change the world!

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children.

During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations.

But HIV/AIDS among women and girls is not just an international problem - it affects women right here in the United States. In addition, the number of U.S. women and girls living with HIV is on the rise. In the mid 1980s, less than 15 percent of new HIV infections in the United States were among women and girls ages 13 years and older; by 2006, it was about 27 percent.

By supporting Childrens and Womens AIDS Awareness Day, we can bring attention to the impact of this disease and encourage women to get tested regularly and know their status. We can also let women know that despite being infected, they can live life to the fullest.