June 27th is National HIV Testing Day
Coordinated by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US), this campaign helps reach millions of Americans at risk for HIV with the message that “It’s better to know.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 180,000 to 280,000 people nationwide are HIV-positive but are unaware of their status. HIV counseling and testing enables people with HIV to take steps to protect their own health and that of their partners, and helps people who test negative get the information they need to stay uninfected.
In observance of this day, there will be many community events that involve state and local organizations. The campaign’s outreach effort includes everyone, but especially targets high-risk populations such as African American and Latino communities; adolescents; young homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered men; women of childbearing age; and people who use contaminated needles to inject drugs.
To learn more, and to search for an HIV testing site in your area, you can visit the NAPWA site or the National HIV testing Day page. For more information on HIV, visit the ASHA website.
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