Everyone Should Get Tested

even if you are in a committed relationship--sorry, but statistics show couples aren't that faithful

Education Is the First Step in Fighting HIV/AIDS
National HIV testing days adopted around the world

By Jane Morse
USINFO Staff Writer



Washington -- The first step in fighting HIV/AIDS is education, and so communities across the United States are planning a wide variety of activities for June 27, National HIV Testing Day (NHTD), to heighten public awareness of the devastating disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remain leading causes of illness and death in the United States. The CDC estimates that more than a million Americans are living with the disease, and another 250,000 people nationwide might be HIV-positive but unaware that they are infected.

HIV counseling and testing enables people with HIV to take steps to protect their own health and that of their partners. It also helps the people who test negative to get the information they need to stay uninfected.

NHTD was established 15 years ago by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US). Established in 1983, NAPWA-US bills itself as the oldest coalition in the world of people living with AIDS. It advocates for disease victims and encourages at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing. The annual testing day is one way of helping raise public awareness.

Across the country, thousands of HIV counseling and testing sites, state and local health departments, and community-based HIV/AIDS service providers will mark NHTD by holding health fairs, providing community and media outreach, hosting special testing-related events or extending operating hours.

In 2006, the CDC published new recommendations for health care providers, urging them to make voluntary HIV screening a routine part of medical care for all patients aged 13 to 64. The recommendations aim to simplify the HIV testing process in health care settings and increase early HIV diagnosis.

In Washington, Howard University Hospital -- which was founded in 1862, originally to care for newly freed slaves -- became the first hospital in the United States to implement the CDC’s recommendations for routine HIV testing. First lady Laura Bush recognized this accomplishment with a June 19 visit to the hospital.

“People can live positively with AIDS for a long time,” the first lady said during a round table discussion at Howard University’s Center for Infectious Disease Management and Research. “AIDS is not the death sentence that we once thought it was. And so to avoid testing is really making a big mistake,” she said.

HIV TESTING DAY GOES GOING INTERNATIONAL

In 2006, the concept of an HIV testing day went international when the United Nations General Assembly passed by consensus a decision urging countries to hold a national HIV/AIDS testing day during 2007. The U.S. delegation to that meeting was led by Laura Bush, who urged that increased testing and counseling be made available to more people the world over. (See related article.)

Among the countries that have an annual day -- or even an entire week -- devoted to voluntary counseling and testing are Zambia, Malawi and Ethiopia.

Africa has been hit especially hard by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), “Southern Africa remains the epicenter of the global AIDS epidemic.” UNAIDS notes that sub-Saharan Africa has just more than 10 percent of the world’s population, but is home to more than 60 percent of all people living with HIV -- 25.8 million. In 2005, an estimated 3.2 million people in the region became newly infected, while 2.4 million adults and children died of AIDS.

On June 25, Laura Bush began her third visit to Africa -- a five-day trip that takes her to Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali, highlighting the U.S. commitment to combating HIV/AIDS on that continent and around the world. (See related article.)

President Bush announced May 30 that he would work with Congress to double the U.S. commitment in the global fight against HIV/AIDS to $30 billion and reauthorize the legislation that established the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). If Congress grants the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2008, and with the new $30 billion proposal, the American people will have committed $48.3 billion over 10 years to fight HIV/AIDS. (See related article.)

The U.S. contribution is already the largest international health initiative dedicated to a specific disease.

Under PEPFAR, which has been in existence for just three years, the United States has supported treatment for 1.1 million people in 15 target countries, including more than 1 million in Africa.

PEPFAR is working in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS to jointly lead efforts to establish an annual International Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing Day (IVCTD). It will be disseminating an IVCTD Technical Toolkit (developed by USAID partner Health Systems 20/20) to assist countries with planning and implementing their activities, including country case studies highlighting best practices.