Free HIV Testing in Atlanta on National HIV Testing Day

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) partners with Walgreens and Kaiser Family Foundation’s Greater than HIV initiative to provide free HIV testing in metro Atlanta on National HIV Testing Day HIV, June 27.

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Dr. Robyn Neblett Fainfair, the new director of HIV prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will join partners at an event in southwest Atlanta.

The initiative aims to combat high rates of HIV in the city. Atlanta ranks among the top five U.S. cities hardest hit by new HIV diagnoses, with Black individuals disproportionately affected.

Testing will be available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at participating Walgreens stores. No appointment is necessary. The AHF will provide a free lunch to the first 100 people tested at each site.

“The only way to know your status is to get tested,” Dr. Fainfair said. “Thanks to advances in prevention and treatment, we are closer than ever to ending HIV. »

CDC data shows that one in seven HIV-positive people in the United States are unaware of their status. In Atlanta, 85% of cases are men, with black men having a diagnosis rate nearly six times that of white men.

The testing initiative is part of a long-standing partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation, Walgreens and community organizations. Since 2011, the program has provided more than 80,000 free HIV tests nationwide.

Counselors will be on hand to answer questions about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. They will also provide information on prevention methods, including PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), and treatment options.

This year’s event marks the highest level of participation in the program’s history, both in terms of testing partners and store locations involved.