Observed annually on the 27th of September, National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a day that’s designed to raise awareness about the effect of HIV and AIDS on gay and bisexual men in the U.S. Gay men are disproportionately impacted by acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) with more than 648,600 gay and bisexual men living with HIV in the U.S.

And although gay and bisexual men only account for 2% of the U.S population, they account for 66% of all new diagnoses. Looking at those figures, it’s easy to see why it’s urgent for every American to observe this holiday and help to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.

The History Of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

This holiday was created and put into action in 2008 by the National Association of People with AIDS to recognize how HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect gay and bisexual men and to encourage more to be done to bring their rates down.

AIDS/HIV Among Gay & Bisexual Men

Below are some facts we’ve learned from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. Let’s take a closer look at them before discussing how this holiday can be observed. The following facts are using data from 2016-for the latest data, be sure to visit the website of the CDC.

• 648,600 cases of HIV infection have come from male-to-male sexual contact.
• 298,700 cases of HIV infection have come from heterosexual sexual contact.
• 58,600 cases of HIV infection come from male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use.

Observing National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Everyone can do more to observe this holiday and there are several ways in which they can participate-in both a direct and indirect manner. The first thing that everyone can do is to educate themselves about the prevention and risk factors associated with HIV.

The next thing that they can do is to help eliminate the stigma that’s long been associated with HIV and AIDS through education. Other ways to observe this day include getting tested for HIV, supporting AIDS and HIV research programs, or visiting Aids.gov and/or the CDC’s website for more information.