On Thursday, Dec. 1, learn about the impact of HIV/AIDS on DeKalb County and

 

get a free HIV test. In addition, join in a “dance to heal” workshop of AfriSalsa group

 

dancing.

 

This World AIDS Day event will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bohan

 

auditorium of the Richardson Health Center, 445 Winn Way, Decatur.

 

Free, walk-in, confidential, 20-minute HIV tests will be available from 9 a.m. to

 

4 p.m. at the DeKalb Addiction Clinic at 455 Winn Way.

 

Dec. 1, 2011, marks the 24th annual World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is: “Getting to zero: zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.”

 

In the U.S., every nine and a half minutes someone is infected with HIV. In 2009,

 

there were about 48,100 new HIV infections. There are currently 1.2 million Americans

 

living with HIV/AIDS. About a fifth of these individuals are unaware they are HIV

 

positive.

 

In Georgia, there were approximately 18,000 persons living with HIV (not AIDS)

 

at the end of 2009.

 

HIV/AIDS is, of course, a daily reality for many DeKalb County residents. In

 

fact, the DeKalb County Board of Health’s Early Care Clinic serves about 700 HIVpositive

 

patients

 

The sponsors of the World AIDS Day event are the AfriSalsa AIDS Campaign,

 

the DeKalb Community Service Board and the DeKalb County Board of Health.

 

For information on AfriSalsa, visit www.AfriSalsa.com or call (404) 477-7000.

 

For information on the DeKalb Community Service Board, visit www.dekcsb.org or call

 

(404) 294-3834. For information on the Dec. 1 event or the DeKalb County Board of

 

Health, visit dekalbhealth.net or call (404) 508-7866.

 

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