HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 04-07-2026; 8-g - Youth HIV AIDS Awareness Day Proclamation 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 7, 2026
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-g
SUBJECT: Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Proclamation
DEPARTMENT: BOCC
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Proclamation Commissioner Amy Fowler, 919-245-
2130
Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board, 919-
245-2130
PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation designating April 10, 2026 as Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness
Day in Orange County.
BACKGROUND: National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is an annual observance that
occurs on April 10th each year to educate the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young
people. Today's young people are the first generation who have never known a world without
HIV and AIDS. In the United States, one in four new HIV cases is among youth ages 13 to 24.
Every month, 1,000 young people acquire HIV and over 70,000 young people ages 13-24 are
currently living with HIV across the country, with at least half unaware of their HIV status.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports:
• GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY
OBJECTIVE 2. Expand access to quality, affordable healthcare services. (e.g., Crisis
Diversion facility, Medicaid expansion, crisis response, healthy living campaign).
OBJECTIVE 3. Provide social safety net programming and the resources needed for our
most vulnerable community members (e.g., veterans, unhoused people, foster children,
older adults, etc.).
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve and authorize the
Chair to the sign proclamation.
2
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Proclamation
WHEREAS, "National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day" is a nationwide observance that calls
on people to take action to invest in the health, education, and leadership of young people; and
WHEREAS, more than 40 years into the epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that in the United States, more than 1.2 million people are living with HIV,
and 31,800 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2022; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, youth aged 13 to 24 years composed 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses
in the United States; and
WHEREAS, young people living with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in
care and have a suppressed viral load; and
WHEREAS, the majority of young people living with HIV ages 13 to 24 are unaware of their HIV
status; and
WHEREAS,African-American youth are most impacted by the epidemic, representing a majority
of new transmissions in young people ages 13 to 24, with young African-American gay and
bisexual men even more severely affected; and
WHEREAS, young gay and bisexual men accounted for the majority of all new HIV diagnoses
in people aged 13 to 24 in 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Nation's largest Federal program dedicated to providing care and treatment for
people living with HIV was named after Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana who helped
educate the Nation about HIV and AIDS in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy highlights the fact that young people often
experience worse HIV outcomes on status awareness, pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake, and
health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy recommends children and young adults who are
living with HIV need tailored and often more intensive medical and support services to support
them as they grow and become young adults;
NOW THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim April
10, 2026 as Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in Orange County, recognizing young people's right
to education, prevention, treatment, and care, and to live without criminalization, discrimination,
oppression, and stigma.
This the 7th day of April, 2026.
Jean Hamilton, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners