webmaster posted on November 29, 2010 13:55
GET FIT, GET TESTED! WORLD AIDS DAY 2010 ZUMBA PARTY
Provo, Utah: November 29, 2010
Provo, Utah—On December 1, 2010 local nonprofit organization Centro Hispano will celebrate World AIDS Day 2010 with free HIV testing at 8:30 am and a Zumba party at 9am (Eclipse Event Center 600 S. 100 W. Provo UT, 84601). World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1st each year around the world and has become a key international health day to raise awareness and increase access to treatment and prevention services. World AIDS Day is also important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there is still much to be done, even in our local community.
While the federal government’s investment in treatment and research is helping people with HIV/AIDS live longer and more productive lives, HIV continues to spread at a national rate of over 40,000 new infections per year. In Utah, where both HIV and AIDS have been tracked, the number of HIV/AIDS cases peaked in 1990 and have declined since then. Advances in medicine and HIV prevention services have allowed HIV positive individuals to live longer and have prevented many from becoming infected. However, the declines in new cases have not affected all groups evenly. The incidence of HIV and its prevalence continues to disproportionately affect minority groups in Utah at a much higher rate.
Collaborating with the Utah Department of Health, Centro Hispano is working to enhance accessibility to HIV prevention services in Utah County. This year Centro Hispano will kick-off their HIV prevention and education program “¡Previene, y Protégete!: Prevent and Protect Yourself!” starting in January 2011. As part of Centro Hispano’s health and wellness program, HIV prevention and education services will include free HIV testing and education outreach. Although Centro Hispano targets the Hispanic community HIV testing services will be free and open to the entire community.