Testing Makes Us Stronger

Testing Makes Us Stronger 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed Testing Makes Us Stronger for black gay and bisexual men with input from black gay and bisexual men across the country. The goal of this national campaign is to promote HIV testing among black gay and bisexual men. Testing Makes Us Stronger aims to demonstrate that knowing one's HIV status is important and empowering information. The campaign’s bold images and messages are featured in ads in national publications and websites, as well as local outdoor, transit and print media in select cities experiencing high levels of HIV infection in African American gay and bisexual men.

A 19-member panel of expert consultants consisting of black gay and bisexual community leaders worked with CDC to develop the campaign. More than 400 black men in five U.S. cities helped refine the messages that you see.

Testing Makes Us Stronger is a part of Act Against AIDS, CDC’s 5-year, multi-faceted national communication campaign to fight the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States. Act Against AIDS focuses on raising HIV awareness among all persons living in the United States and reducing the risk of infection among the hardest-hit populations. The multiple campaign phases use mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, billboard advertisements, magazines, the Internet and other communication channels) to deliver important HIV prevention messages. To learn more about Act Against AIDS, visit www.actagainstaids.org.

Remember, Testing Makes Us Stronger is just one part of the solution to the cycle of HIV among black gay and bisexual men. We need a nationwide movement to stop HIV in this community. Everyone has a role to play:

• As individuals – Get tested, know your status and talk about HIV with friends and family.
• As a community – Tackle the discrimination, stigma and homophobia that fuel the HIV epidemic among black gay men.
• As a nation – Work to advance the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy by increasing HIV prevention efforts and reducing disparities in the U.S. HIV epidemic.

You may already know that gay and bisexual men are the population most affected by HIV in the U.S. Black gay and bisexual men are getting hit particularly hard by the epidemic. Studies in major cities have found that, in those cities, nearly one in three black gay and bisexual men is infected with HIV, and the majority (59%) don’t even know it because they’ve never been tested or aren’t testing enough.[1]

From 2006 to 2009, new infections in young black gay and bisexual men (ages 13-29) increased by 48 percent.[2]

But, there is reason to be hopeful, since we have the power to stop HIV. Knowing your HIV status is a powerful tool – whether you test positive or negative, you can use that knowledge to take better care of yourself and your loved ones. We encourage you to get involved and to change the course of this epidemic for yourself and for your community.

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