PPHP Calls for Health Equity on
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
For Immediate Release: Feb. 7, 2019
Today, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) recognizes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and reaffirms our commitment to addressing the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on Black communities through comprehensive HIV prevention, testing, and linkages to care.
PPHP is an important resource to Black communities in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Suffolk counties for HIV prevention and testing. In 2017, PPHP administered more than 9,100 HIV tests. PPHP is also proud to be among the more than 400 Planned Parenthood health centers in 44 states across the country that offer pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily pill that can help reduce transmission for people who are at high risk for HIV, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a series of pills that, if taken within 72 hours of being exposed to HIV, can lower your chances of getting it.
Knowing your HIV status is one of the most important things you can do to protect you and your partner’s health and take control of your sex life. HIV tests are easy, quick, and confidential. You can’t tell by looking at someone if they have HIV or not. You also can’t tell if you have HIV based on whether you have symptoms. All sexually transmitted infections (STIs), even HIV, are treatable, and many are curable. Early treatment can help prevent serious, lifelong health problems, but you can’t get treatment if you don’t know your status. And the only way to know your status is to get tested.
Statement from Vince Russell, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic
“We are proud to offer our patients compassionate, nonjudgmental HIV prevention services, such as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post exposure prophylaxis), testing, and education. The discrimination and stigma faced by the groups most affected by HIV and AIDS — Black women, trans people, young people, and men who have sex with men — can leave these communities without access to HIV prevention tools and lifesaving treatments. It can also leave people living with AIDS without the care and support they need.”
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African Americans make up 12% of the US population, but 44% of new HIV diagnoses. If current diagnosis rates continue, one in two Black gay or bisexual men, one in 20 Black men, and one in 48 Black women will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. While the racial gap in disparities are closing, threats to the programs that help people access health care threaten to roll back progress.
To learn more about PPHP’s HIV services, or to schedule an appointment for an HIV test, visit www.pphp.org or call (800) 230-7526.