#SHAAD2021

Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2021

Today, August 20^th, is Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (SHAAD). This day was created by the Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC) COMPASS Coordinating Center to honor the work and discussion of effective, community-based solutions to end the HIV epidemic.

Although HIV impacts the entire country, the South experiences the greatest burden of new HIV diagnoses, and deaths of any U.S. region. In 2018, the South accounted for 51% of all new HIV diagnoses, despite only comprising 38% of the U.S. population. SHAAD highlights the disproportionate impact of HIV on the Southern U.S. and advocates for resources and solutions to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS in the South.

In observance of SHAAD 2021, SAC is inviting you to join leaders of emerging organizations and funders for a conversation on how we support and sustain community-led efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the south. COMPASS’s staff and partners are featured among the prestigious panelists including:

• Neena Smith-Bankhead of the Emory University Coordinating Center
• Kathy Garner of AID Service Coalition
• Pat Kelly of A Family Affair
• Arianna Lint of Arianna’s Center
• Cedric Sturdevant of CH-PIER
• Marvell L. Terry II of AIDS United

The conversation will be livestream at 11 AM CT/12 PM ET on the COMPASS Initiative® Facebook and Southern AIDS Coalition Facebook & Southern AIDS Coalition YouTube pages.

SHAAD gives us all an opportunity to join a national movement to raise awareness, erase HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, and to advocate for new and necessary resources and solutions to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS in the South. Keep up with the COMPASS Initiative and SAC’s social pages today to see our partners’ #SouthernSolutions and share your own using the hashtags!

Learn more about SHAAD