For the past five years, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) designated June 27 as National HIV Testing Day. This year, ten cities are offering free testing through the combined efforts of MTV’s GYT: Get Yourself Tested campaign, Greater Than AIDS movement started by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Black AIDS Institute.
The Be Greater Than AIDS: Get Yourself Tested Week starts June 19 and concludes on June 27, with Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York and Washington D.C. offering free testing through participating Planned Parenthood, Walgreens stores and other locations.
The promotional campaign will hopefully urge young people to take control of their health by reducing stigmas attached to getting tested for STD’s and HIV/AIDS. These diseases and infections often cause no symptoms, leaving diagnosis frequently undetected, and therefore are easily spreadable. Getting tested is the only way to assure you and your partner are disease-free.
“Testing is about community. We will never get the HIV epidemic under control until everyone understands that we are all in this together,” said Frank Oldham, Jr., President and CEO of the NAPWA. “Getting tested should be part of every American’s routine health care, from adolescence through senior years, and no one should be stopped from getting tested by fear or shame.”
In conjunction with its hugely popular Pos or Not interactive game, MTV will also be launching a Pos or Not iPhone app on National HIV Testing Day. The online game, which has been played 10.1 million times, breaks barriers and stereotypes associated with people living with HIV/AIDS. Players are challenged to determine if someone is positive or not based on a few personal details. By targeting misconceptions about what AIDS looks like, one can better detach from stigmas associated with the disease and take preventative action.
Photo courtesy of GYTNOW.