National Black HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is observed on Feb. 7 every year to help reduce the burden of HIV on the Black communities across the nation through education, testing, community involvement and treatment.

NBHAAD was first established in 1999 to provide grassroots-level awareness within Black communities by educating them about prevention, care and treatment of AIDS. It is planned by the Strategic Leadership Council annually.

According to reports, more than 42% of all new HIV diagnoses are among African Americans in 2019 alone. Though Black communities have made remarkable progress in reducing HIV over the years, several issues like racism, discrimination and mistrust in the health care system still hinder the effectiveness in engaging patients in HIV care and treatment.

This is why we need to work hand in hand to overcome the challenges that have been keeping people from getting tested and treated for HIV. We also need to work harder to break the stigma around HIV and AIDS and minimize HIV-related gaps and health inequities within black communities.

"When we work to overcome structural barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment, we can #StopHIVTogether," the Center for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a tweet on this year's NBHAAD.

On this day, let us take a look at some powerful quotes that fight ignorance about HIV/AIDS. (Courtesy: Your Fates and Healthline)

  1. "I think AIDS can be won. I think we can win this fight. It is winnable. But it means behavior change. – Franklin Graham
  2. "It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance." – Elizabeth Taylor
  3. "HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug: Heaven knows they need it." – Princess Diana
  4. "AIDS today is not a death sentence. It can be treated as a chronic illness or a chronic disease." – Yusuf Hamied
  5. "Being HIV positive doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to die before each and every person who is HIV negative." – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
  6. "AIDS does not inevitably lead to death, especially if you suppress the co-factors that support the disease. It is very important to tell this to people who are infected." – Luc Montagnier
  7. "People with HIV and AIDS are nothing to be afraid of. They are people just like every single one of us, and each has a story to tell. These people should be helped, embraced and not dismissed. We need to open our hearts and our minds to them, and we just may learn we're pretty much all the same." – Lisa Lampanelli
  8. "One of the best ways to fight stigma and empower HIV-positive people is by speaking out openly and honestly about who we are and what we experience." – Alex Garner
  9. "We live in a completely interdependent world, which simply means we cannot escape each other. How we respond to AIDS depends, in part, on whether we understand this interdependence. It is not someone else's problem. This is everybody's problem." – Bill Clinton
  10. "At the beginning of the fourth decade of the HIV epidemic, profound stigma and discrimination is a fact of life for those with the disease — not just socially, but within our legal system." – Sean Strub
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