The National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) will commemorate National HIV Testing Day on Wednesday, June 27, by calling on residents and mayors of U.S. cities to raise awareness about HIV.
ABOUT NATIONAL HIV TESTING DAY
AND THE MAYORS CAMPAIGN AGAINST HIV
At the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), the largest and oldest advocacy group for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) – we share a vision that learning one’s status not only empowers the community, but represents a major victory over the HIV epidemic. National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) was established by NAPWA in 1995 to increase testing around the nation so that more Americans know their status. As we enter the eighteenth year of NHTD, we want to increase testing by 10 percent in every city, each year for the next three years.
NAPWA’s Mayors’ Campaign Against HIV urges mayors across the country to raise visibility around the Take the Test, Take Control message by issuing proclamations declaring June 27 National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) in their own cities or in support of HIV testing at any time of year.
With rapid oral HIV testing and innovative home-based HIV tests on the horizon, people at risk of becoming HIV-positive are soon to be given the tools to more rapidly and frequently update their status. When it comes to HIV transmission, information is not only power for the patient – it’s a means to dramatically alter the course of the disease. NHTD is an extremely pivotal day that will harness the power of our communities to inform the public and advance implementation of effective treatment.
To find a testing site near you, click here.
