National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

September 18 is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAD), dedicated to raising awareness about long-term HIV survivors and people living with HIV who are ages 50 and older. Due to biomedical improvements in HIV treatment, people living with HIV (PLWH)
can achieve and maintain viral suppression and live long and healthy lives.

NHAAD is a crucial opportunity to recognize the unique challenges that older people living with HIV and those at-risk face in accessing HIV testing, care, and treatment. Advancements in HIV treatments have lowered the likelihood of AIDS-defining illnesses among
those living with HIV, but HIV-associated conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, renal disease, and cancer can persist in older individuals living with HIV. In addition, greater social isolation, loneliness, and stigma can impact the health
and well-being of older individuals living with HIV.

In 2023, people aged 55 and up accounted for 42% of people living with HIV in the U.S.—with those 55–64 comprising 26% of the population living with HIV, the largest share of any age group. Despite high prevalence rates, only a minority of individuals 65 and
older have ever tested for HIV. This is likely due to lack of awareness or stigma, which can affect quality of life, self-image, and behaviors such as HIV status disclosure or seeking HIV care.

People aged 55 to 64 accounted for 7% of the 39,182 new HIV diagnoses in 2023, and 2% of new diagnoses were among those 65 and older. According to recent CDC data, 33.4% of people aged 55 to 64 and 33.9% of people aged 65 and older who received a new HIV diagnosis
in 2023 already had late-stage HIV infection (AIDS) when they were diagnosed—underscoring the need for routinized HIV screening in these populations.