We are excited to share information about Let’s Stop HIV Together, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new HIV awareness and anti-stigma campaign launching nationwide. The campaign gives voice to people living with HIV from all walks of life, alongside their friends and family members. As part of the campaign, these individuals share their personal stories and call on everyone to join the fight against the disease. Let’s Stop HIV Together highlights the fact that HIV touches every corner of American society and that people with the infection are part of the fabric of our families and valued members of our communities. Click here to watch the campaign video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRF5p96JD9k&feature=youtu.be.  Please also visit www.ActAgainstAIDS.org to download all campaign materials, view and share the campaign videos and PSAs, and share your personal stories about how you, your friends, and your colleagues are stopping HIV together.

Let’s Stop HIV Together encourages everyone to:

• Get the facts – Learn the basics of HIV transmission and prevention.
• Get tested – CDC recommends that every adult and adolescent get tested at least once in his or her lifetime, and those at increased risk (for example, men who have sex with men, and individuals with new or multiple sexual partners) get tested at least once a year.
• Get involved – Encourage friends and loved ones to get tested and speak out against the stigma and complacency that help fuel the spread of HIV.

More than three decades after the first reported AIDS cases, HIV is still a crisis in the United States.  Approximately 50,000 Americans become newly infected each year, and an estimated 1.1 million people are now living with HIV. Yet, nearly one in five of these individuals does not know that they are infected.

The new campaign will appear in national print and online ads, television and radio public service announcements (PSAs), billboards and other outdoor advertising venues, and will be the focus of a national media relations effort to generate print and broadcast news stories.

Outlined below are several ways you – as a partner in HIV prevention – can help support this important campaign. Your efforts can help CDC extend the reach of these important campaign messages through your organization’s communication channels online and in your community.

Online
Support the campaign online:

• Like the Act Against AIDS Facebook page, sharing or responding to our posts, and directing your followers to check out our page and our website.
  • Here’s an example Facebook post your organization can use:
    • Check out CDC’s new national HIV awareness campaign, “Let’s Stop HIV Together.” The campaign features stories of people living with HIV supported by their loved ones and friends. Share your thoughts on CDC’s Act Against AIDS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ActAgainstAIDS.
  • Share your story online about how you or your organization is working to fight HIV (www.ActAgainstAIDS.org).
• Post about it. Share the news about the new campaign throughout your network via an e-mail or posting on your organization’s website.
  • Download digital banner ads and badges from our campaign website to add to your organization’s website.
• Tweet about it. Spread the word about the campaign through Twitter by using the campaign hashtag #StopHIVTogether and by visiting us on the Act Against AIDS Twitter page @TalkHIV.
  • Example campaign tweets:
    • CDC is launching a new national #HIV campaign to raise awareness and fight stigma. http://bit.ly/aoS6eS #StopHIVTogether

In your community
Support the campaign in your community:

• Use the campaign materials in your local area. Request printed posters, palm cards and brochures from CDC to distribute at community events and to provide to local venues in your city by sending an e-mail request to ActAgainstAIDS@cdc.gov.
  • CDC will provide a limited quantity of already printed materials; additional items can be downloaded and printed from www.ActAgainstAIDS.org.
  • Co-brand the campaign materials or advertisements with your organization’s logo. For more information about cobranding, please send an email to ActAgainstAIDS@cdc.gov.
• Incorporate Let’s Stop HIV Together messages into community events and educational presentations, underscoring the importance of fighting stigma and increasing awareness about HIV and how to prevent infection.
• Talk about Let’s Stop HIV Together and the importance of HIV prevention with your colleagues, family and friends.

Please visit www.ActAgainstAIDS.org to download all campaign materials, view and share the campaign videos and PSAs, and share your personal stories about how you, your friends, and your colleagues are stopping HIV together.

By working together, we can stop HIV. Thank you for your efforts in HIV prevention, testing and treatment, and for your continued support of CDC and Act Against AIDS