COLUMBIA -- The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and its community partners will observe the first National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10, the agency announced today.

The new national annual observance reflects a focus on the increasingly significant impact of HIV/AIDS among women. In the United States, women, particularly African-Americans and other minorities, are suffering from a rising rate of HIV infection, and AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among women ages 25-44 years.

“In South Carolina, the number of women living with HIV/AIDS almost doubled between 1995 and 2004,” said Lynda Kettinger, DHEC’s STD/HIV Division director.

Statistics for South Carolina also show:

• About 300 women are newly diagnosed with HIV each year in SC, representing one in every four new cases. More than 4,200 women are living with the disease.

• South Carolina ranks sixth among states and the District of Columbia for the highest proportion of persons living with AIDS that are women, according to 2004 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.