Education Law

Celebrate National HIV Testing Day

Did you know that?

• Every 9½ minutes (on average), someone in the United States is infected with HIV;
• In 2006, an estimated 56,300 people became infected with HIV;
• More than 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and 1 out of 5 do not know they are infected;
• Despite new therapies, people with HIV still develop AIDS; and
• More than 14,000 people with AIDS still die each year in the United States.

BoardBuzz would also like to point out that, alarmingly, 34 percent (or approximately 19,000 of the 53,000) of those who became infected in 2006 were adolescents or young adults aged 13 to 29 years.  In addition, recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that certain groups of young people are affected disproportionately - more than half of all cases of HIV infection or AIDS among young people during 2003-2006 were male-to-male sexual contact and 70 percent of all HIV/AIDS diagnoses among youth during that same period were among black youth, even though blacks represented only 17 percent of the population in that age group. 

Despite these statistics, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report shows that the public’s sense of urgency regarding HIV infection is down, even among some higher risk groups.  Moreover, the sense of personal risk has fallen among young adults, and testing rates are stagnant.  In addition, two reports released yesterday by the CDC indicate that: 1) far too many people are diagnosed with HIV late in the course of infection, when neither treatment nor prevention can offer optimal benefit; and 2) that only 22.3 percent of high school students who have ever had sex have been tested for HIV.  There is, however, as shown in the Kaiser Family report, public support for more HIV prevention spending and a belief that greater efforts on prevention will make a difference.  

Young people spend countless hours at school, therefore, schools are well positioned to help prevent kids from engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection.  But exactly what steps can schools take? A recent CDC fact sheet offers a few suggestions including: 1) collect and analyze data on same-sex sexual behavior; 2) establish safe and supportive environments; 3) provide training on HIV prevention for school staff; and 4) implement effective policies, practices, and interventions that reduce sexual risk behaviors. 

Another Strategy: participate in the National HIV Testing Day, being celebrated tomorrow, June 27.   As an annual campaign started in 1995 by the National Association of People with AIDS, it is designed to encourage people to “Take the Test, Take Control.”  To help celebrate, the CDC has a webpage dedicated to the Day that includes events happing nationwide, posters, tools and a list of partners.  Check it out and celebrate!

What are your schools doing to prevent the spread of HIV? Leave us a comment.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 26, 2009 (boomark / email).