National AIDS and Aging Awareness Day set for May 13

National AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, an event aimed at raising the awareness of the impact of HIV on people over age 50, will be held on Friday, May 13. The event was created to raise awareness of the potential for HIV infection in the aging community and to offer culturally expanded and age-appropriate HIV prevention education, counseling, and testing programs. "Let's face the facts--people are living longer, healthier lives. People are also sexually active past the age of 50, which means they are at risk for HIV infection," says Gene Copello, executive director of the AIDS Institute, which supports the national event. "In order to address this epidemic in the over-50 age group, we must provide appropriate prevention messages, encourage HIV testing in culturally sensitive ways, and ensure that health care providers are not discriminating against HIV testing and education among the over-50 set." For more information about National AIDS and Aging Awareness Day visit the National Association on HIV Over 50 Web site at www.hivoverfifty.org .