Help Save Lives Through Black HIV/Aids Awareness Day

New Tennessee Sites Now Provide HIV Rapid Testing

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen has proclaimed Saturday, February 7th, 2009 as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) in Tennessee, as the Tennessee Department of Health joins the nation in recognizing this important health observance. This year’s theme is “Black Life Is Worth Saving: Get Educated. Get Tested. Get Involved. Get Treated.”

“We want to eliminate the stigma around HIV testing by encouraging activities that make HIV testing and prevention education a routine part of medical care,” said Veronica Gunn, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief medical officer of the Tennessee Department of Health. “Studies have shown that knowing one’s status results in significant behavior changes that reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. Furthermore, the earlier the virus is detected and treatment begun, the better the person’s long term health.”

According to the latest HIV/AIDS statistics available for Tennessee, in 2007 African-Americans represented 64 percent of all Tennesseans living with HIV/AIDS while making up only 17 percent of the state’s population. The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in African-Americans in Tennessee was 10 times higher than reported cases among Caucasians. In addition, African-Americans comprised an overwhelming majority of deaths in Tennessee among persons with HIV/AIDS in 2007, representing 72 percent of those fatalities.

In an effort to increase the number of persons who know their status, in 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded a three year HIV testing initiative, the Expanded and Integrated Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing for Populations Disproportionately Affected by HIV, Primarily African Americans. The goal is to test 1.5 million individuals and identify 20,000 infected persons who are unaware of their status.

Tennessee sites now funded for testing under this grant include the emergency departments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Metro General Hospital at Meharry and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital; LeBonheur Community HIV Network, Nashville Cares, the Metro Public Health Department in Nashville; the Memphis/Shelby County Health Department and both the men’s and women’s jails in Memphis.

Free and confidential HIV testing is offered in county health departments and community-based organizations across the state. For information on NBHAAD activities or where you can get tested, call the HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-525-2437.