On Friday, February 6, 2009 and Saturday, February 7, 2009, the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York will mark National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by offering expanded free and confidential HIV and STD screening in its Albany office and in the community. Testing sessions will take place on Friday, February 6 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at 927 Broadway in Albany. On Saturday, February 7, the AIDS Council will provide walk-in HIV and STD screening at the Evangelical Protestant Church at 82 Clinton Street in Albany from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Appointments are not required.  For all sites, testing will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. “National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a national mobilization effort designed to encourage African-Americans across the United States and Territorial Areas to get educated, get tested, get treated, and get involved with HIV/AIDS, as it continues to devastate Black communities,” says Steven Davis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of the NBHAAD Strategic Leadership Council. “This year marks the 9th annual observance of NBHAAD and we are so thankful that community organizations have agreed to support this cause.”

Michele McClave, Executive Director of the AIDS Council, expanded on Mr. Davis’s call for African Americans to get tested: “African Americans account for 13% of our nation’s population, and yet they represent 49% of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. Early detection and knowing one’s status is critical to stopping the spread of HIV. The AIDS Council is a leader in bringing testing and HIV prevention interventions to the communities most impacted by the disease – we take a proactive approach in getting our continuum of prevention and client services to the people who need these services the most.”

McClave continued, “In Northeastern New York, HIV/AIDS also disproportionately affects African Americans who make up 6% of our population but represent 33% of people living with HIV/AIDS. In Upstate New York, African American women make up 49% of people living with HIV/AIDS. These statistics clearly show that the AIDS Council’s prevention and client services are needed now more than ever before. We don’t wait for communities most at risk to come to us – we go to them to provide testing and risk-reduction prevention interventions.” The AIDS Council’s Prevention Services Department is dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV in Northeastern New York. The agency’s targeted prevention initiatives help people change behavior in order to reduce the rate of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis. Testing sessions include individualized risk assessment and risk reduction planning. The AIDS Council provides OraQuick Advance testing for HIV (no blood, no needles) which provides same-day results in approximately 20 minutes; urine-based screening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea which provides results in one week; and Hepatitis C screening which provides results in two weeks.

Additional information is available on the AIDS Council’s website: http://www.aidscouncil.org/prevention-services/.