AHF’s ‘End HIV Stigma’ campaign fights to end stigma that not only causes a feeling of alienation among those living with HIV, but also discourages people from getting testing and seeking lifesaving treatment for fear of being stigmatized. This avoidance of testing is one of the reasons why one out of every three new HIV diagnoses are found in people under the age of 24, according to the CDC.
More and more media outlets – including the Huffington Post, MTV and most recently, FOX Network’s ‘Empire’ – are focusing not only on the lives of young people who are HIV-positive, but also on the stigma facing those living with the virus that makes prevention and treatment more difficult. Through ‘End HIV Stigma,’ AHF is bringing an important conversation about the impact that HIV/AIDS has on people’s lives and how they feel about HIV stigma, the common name given to the baseless fear and hatred of people living with HIV.
