In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), Cobb & Douglas Public Health (CDPH) will host a free HIV/AIDS testing and counseling event at the Marietta Health Center on Friday, February 6 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. as part of the testing and treatment community mobilization initiative designed to encourage Black men and women across the United States to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated around HIV/AIDS.

What:
Free HIV/AIDS Testing and Counseling

When:
Friday, February 6
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Where:
Cobb & Douglas Public Health
Marietta Health Center, Boardroom
1650 County Services Parkway
Marietta, GA 30008
770-514-2432

According to the NBHAAD Day Strategic Leadership Committee, HIV/AIDS continues to devastate Black communities. In 2009, an estimated 16,741 Blacks were diagnosed with AIDS in the US, a number that has slowly decreased since 2006. By the end of 2008, an estimated 260,800 Blacks with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the US. In 2007, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death for all Blacks and the third leading cause of death for both Black men and Black women aged 35–44. While Blacks represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the group accounts for 44 percent of the nation’s new HIV infections.

“Unfortunately, many of those who are infected with HIV are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to others,” said Dr. Yvonne Carter, medical director of CDPH’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. “As part of the Metro Atlanta area – a location where Black communities are disproportionately impacted and the epidemic is not slowing – Cobb & Douglas Public Health has an urgent need to protect its residents and get them educated about HIV/AIDS to prevent further spread of the infection.”

Residents of Cobb and Douglas counties are encouraged to attend the HIV/AIDS testing and counseling day on February 6 and are reminded that the event is free and open to anyone in the community. All test results are confidential and are available in 20 minutes.

For more information about this event or other HIV/AIDS services at CDPH, please call 770-514-2432.

About National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

February 7, 2015 marks the 15th year for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a national HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative targeted at Blacks in the United States and the Diaspora.  NBHAAD was founded in 1999 as a national response to the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic in African American communities. The NBHAAD initiative leverages a national platform to educate, bring awareness, and mobilize the African American community. NBHAAD has four key focus areas which encourage people to:

  • Get Educated about HIV and AIDS
  • Get Involved in community prevention efforts
  • Get Tested to know their status
  • Get Treated to receive the continuum of care needed to live with HIV/AIDS

For more information about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, visit nationalblackaidsday.org.