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National HIV Testing Day (NHTD), held annually on June 27th, is a time for Federal, state, and local partners to motivate all adults to get tested for HIV and to know their status. This year’s theme is from CDC’s campaign, Doing It, which promotes HIV testing. Nearly 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the United States, with 1 in 7 individuals unaware of their status. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for an estimated 69 percent of new HIV diagnoses in 2018. Additionally, the burden of HIV/AIDS is not evenly distributed geographically. The population rates (per 100,000 people) of persons diagnosed with HIV infection in 2014 were highest in the South (15.6), followed by the Northeast (9.9), the West (9.7), and the Midwest (7.2).
Importance of HIV Testing for Prevention and Treatment of HIV Infection
HIV testing is the only way for the approximately 161,800 Americans living with undiagnosed HIV to learn their status so they can access HIV care and treatment. Once diagnosed, people living with HIV can obtain health-extending and lifesaving care and treatment. A person diagnosed with HIV early in the course of his or her infection can have almost the same life expectancy as a person without HIV. Besides helping people with HIV live longer, healthier lives, antiretroviral therapy can nearly eliminate the risk that a person with HIV will transmit the virus, reducing transmission risk by 99 percent.
Knowing that one does not have HIV infection can provide peace of mind and incentive to stay HIV-free. There are more prevention tools available today to help you stay negative than ever before. A positive result provides you the knowledge to protect your health and that of loved ones. HIV medicines can help you stay healthy and greatly reduce the chance of transmitting HIV to partners.
Additional Resources to Support Local NHTD Efforts
CDC and other national partners have several resources to support your NHTD efforts.
NPIN 2020 NHTD Toolkit
The NPIN toolkit provides prevention partners with ideas and resources to enhance their NHTD efforts.
CDC Fact Sheets
CDC maintains fact sheets on the populations most affected by HIV. A full listing of CDC’s HIV fact sheets can be found here. Following are some examples:
- HIV among Gay and Bisexual Men
- HIV among African American Gay and Bisexual Men
- HIV among Women
- HIV among Transgender People
- HIV among African Americans
- HIV among Hispanics/Latinos
- HIV among Youth
CDC Campaigns
CDC creates and maintains social marketing campaigns that address key issues in HIV prevention, care, and for treatment. Materials, including those for electronic media, can be downloaded from the campaign websites.
- Doing It! is a new national HIV testing and prevention campaign designed to motivate all adults to get tested HIV and know their status.
- Materials from other CDC HIV testing campaigns (Razones/Reasons) can be ordered through CDC-INFO.
CDC Web-Based Tools and Resources
- The HIV Risk Reduction Tool, an interactive tool developed for adults, allows users to learn about the risk of getting or transmitting HIV and how to lower that risk.
- NCHHSTP ATLAS, for the latest HIV surveillance numbers
- Use GetTested to find free, fast, and confidential testing locations
- Learn more about National HIV Testing Day
CDC Surveillance Reports
- CDC HIV Surveillance Reports
- Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2014
- Monitoring Selected National HIV Prevention and Care Objectives by Using HIV Surveillance Data United States and 6 Dependent Areas—2013
AIDS.gov Resources
NPIN Community
Help prevention partners and community allies in the fight against HIV to encourage everyone to acquire the knowledge and tools needed to protect themselves and their partners from HIV infection and to lead healthy lives. Register for the NPIN Community and share your prevention activities, challenges, and best practices.