National HIV Testing Day

Dear LULAC Community,

The statistics and numbers matter. In the United States, there are currently about 1.1 million people living with HIV. From this 1.1 million population, 14% of those people have no idea they have HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Latinos account for 27% of the 37,832 new HIV diagnosis. More than one-third of Latinos with HIV are tested late into their illness and within one year they are diagnosed with AIDS. Sindy Benavides, CEO of LULAC, notes that the primary barriers for HIV testing and healthcare in Latino communities are “poverty, migration patterns, lower education levels, and language barriers.” LULAC believes it is important to increase testing within our communities to decrease the diagnoses in the Latino community as a whole.

Today is National HIV Testing Day and LULAC would like to encourage our community to get tested to #KnowYourStatus. National HIV Testing Day is an awareness day dedicated to raise consciousness about the importance of HIV testing and early HIV diagnosis. By getting tested and knowing your status you can reduce the risk of transmission and increase treatment effectiveness, if one were to test positive. This means if diagnosed positive for HIV, you can continue to live a long and healthy life by getting and staying in care. As recommended by the CDC, those between the ages of 13 to 64 should get tested for HIV as part of their yearly routine health care and if sexually active, every three months.

We want our LULAC family to know about the many resources available to help treat and prevent HIV, such as free HIV tests and educational programs. On this National HIV Testing Day, we encourage you to get tested for HIV and take control of your well being. The only way to be sure of your status is by getting tested!

Promote testing to your family and friends by using the hashtags #NHTD, #HIVTestingDay, #KnowYourStatus and #DoingItMyWay. Don't forget to tag us at @LULAC for a chance to get featured!

Click here for more information regarding clinics that offer free testing and other resources near you.

Know Your Status