Today is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

In 2014, new diagnoses broke down like this:

• Black women – 62%
• Latinx women – 16%
• White – 18%

New diagnosis rates are falling! Still, there is a lot of progress we have to make. One major issue is how there is so much stigma still associated with HIV/AIDS.

What can we do?

Take time to learn about HIV, living with HIV, and other resources. My favorites are patient activists Josh Robbins of I’m Still Josh and Brian Ledford of A Marine and HIV.

You also should check out episode 3 of our podcast with DJ D-REK.

Make sure that you take steps to protect yourself and others by using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) within 3 days of unprotected genital fun, and make sure to use condoms or dental dams for all genital contact you have in non-monogamous situations.

Get tested by visiting this site, texting your zip code to 566948, or calling 1-800-232-4636.

If you want to help raise awareness, you can donate a Facebook post or tweet via Thunderclap or use the tags #NWGHAAD and #bestdefense on social media.

Facts in this post come from Womenshealth.gov, the CDC, and AIDS.gov.