MONDAY, June 26, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Tuesday is HIV Testing Day across the United States -- an opportunity for Americans everywhere to get a free HIV test plus counseling and to "Take the Test, Take Control."
Sponsored by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA), workers at thousands of sites will offer free and confidential testing and distribute vital information.
With an estimated 250,000 Americans currently unaware that they are HIV-positive, NAPWA experts believe that "participation in voluntary HIV counseling and testing is a critical first step in taking control and responsibility over one's health".
The testing events aim to help standardize HIV testing and get the message out that finding out about HIV status is critical to personal health and the health of communities.
NAPWA is partnering with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reach out, especially, to communities at a higher risk of HIV infection. Those communities include blacks and Latinos, whose demographics show they are at a higher risk for HIV compared to other groups in the United States.
National HIV Testing Day was created 11 years ago to help fight the impact HIV has had on communities. NAPWA advocates that individuals at risk of infection "seek out voluntary HIV counseling, testing and referral services."
More information
To find a participating testing site in your area, visit HIV Test Site
