HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day
HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day (HLTSAD) honors long-term survivors of HIV and increases visibility of their needs, health issues, and journeys. The annual observance on June 5 coincides with the anniversary of the first reported cases of what later became known as AIDS.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) HIV research program, coordinated by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), supports research to better understand comorbidities, or other diseases that occur alongside HIV, in long-term survivors of HIV and people aging with HIV. Long-term survivors are people who have had the virus for 10 years or longer. The OAR HIV and Aging Signature Program advances research to improve the health of people with HIV experiencing comorbidities such as neurocognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. This includes people aging with HIV, as well as long-term survivors of HIV, who may be younger but still face effects of long-term exposure to the virus and antiretroviral therapy.
Learn more and access additional resources on the HIVinfo HLTSAD webpage.