Get Tested: Knowing your status is key to living.

"No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic."
- Colin Powell, Former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

If you don't know your HIV status, you don't know enough about HIV!

One of our greatest challenges with this initiative is to not only get Blacks tested, but to get them to come back for the results. We know how afraid someone feels if they have put themselves at risk and need to get in and take a test. We have to be brave and strong and walk in our fear and get the test and results. The only way to live a healthy and wholesome life is to make sure we get tested every six months or annually, depending on our risks. Taking the HIV test has become simple and easy, and sometimes with no blood involved.

February 7 must be that day, when we take the test and learn or update our status. Getting tested consistently helps to keep your health in check and allows you to do something early; HIV positive or HIV negative.

A sad reality is that Blacks are getting tested late and going from testing HIV+ to being diagnosed with AIDS, which means they have had HIV for a long time and did not know it. A lot of us find out in the emergency room when our health has deteriorated and almost come to a halt - this is NOT what the ancestors or those who came before us expected from us. It's time for us to get tested regularly.

For many areas of the United States, gone are the days of putting a tight rubber band on your arm and getting a long needle to draw blood. Due to advances in technology, it is now as simple as a swab in the mouth and a 20-minute wait before you know your HIV status. They are even working on a shorter test that works in less than five minutes to let you know your HIV status - how cool is that?

Some would argue why they would want to know their status - here are the facts: According to the CDC, 25% of HIV+ individuals who are unaware of their status cause more than 67.5% of all new infections; and 75% of HIV+ individuals remaining who are aware of their status cause less than 1/3 (32.5%) of new infections.  So, do you want to know your status now?

Getting tested is a step in the right direction. Question is: are you headed in the right direction? Get tested today, go to www.hivtest.org and find a place near you.