FREE STD/HIV testing on April 11 at most local health department clinics. Please call 1-855-4-SCDHEC to schedule an appointment or click here for a listing of local health departments.
What is World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is observed each year on December 1 and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV, and remember those who have died. Started in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. In 2023, the global community marks the 35th commemoration of this important day with the theme “World AIDS Day 35: Remember and Commit”.
South Carolina remembers and commits:
Ending the Epidemics SC World AIDS Day 2023
Human:
The Most Important Word
in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
and Human Trafficking
On World AIDS Day 2023, celebrate the dedicated heroes across South Carolina, who acknowledge that the key factor in both Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Human Trafficking is the human element. They…you…we are changing despair and fear into hope and transforming stigma into knowledge and faith in a future, where everyone’s life is valued, no one becomes infected with HIV and no one is put at risk through being trafficked. DHEC, DAODAS, Ending the Epidemics SC, the South Carolina Christian Action Council and other key partners invite the public to participate in the youth-led Ending the Epidemics SC World AIDS Day 2023 events online or in-person on Friday, Dec. 1. An all-day Facebook and Instagram event will feature video greetings and information from individuals, clinics and agencies around the state, and livestreaming of the annual Charleston-area World AIDS Day Community Observance beginning at 6 p.m. An in-person outdoors event will take place in Columbia on the South Carolina State House grounds from 11a.m. - 2p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. Activities will include a press conference at 11 a.m., free HIV testing, demonstrations of home-test kits, informational displays, a story-sharing section, swag, games and prizes. Please join us at the State House, online on Ending the Epidemics SC social media (@EndingtheEpidemicsSC), at a local observance near you…or organize your own!
In observance of World AIDS Day the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will offer free testing at local health departments on Tuesday, Dec. 5th. South Carolinians can be tested for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and Hepatitis C at no cost.
For more information about World AIDS Day events and local HIV testing sites, call DHEC's S.C. STD/HIV Hotline at 1-800-322-AIDS (1-800-322-2437).
Can't make it to a testing event? No problem. Order a free test kit!
Getting Into Care - The Revolutionary Good News about HIV
Just as with many other chronic health conditions, seeing a health care provider for the first time about HIV might make you a bit nervous. We encourage persons diagnosed with HIV to seek care, stay in care, and achieve viral suppression by taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). People with HIV who take HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy) as prescribed and achieve and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. This good news is called Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U). DHEC has partner agencies that provide an array of services such as testing, referrals/linkage to medical care, and other options regardless of insurance or immigration status. For more on whom to call please click here:
For more information about HIV Care & Treatment here: Let's Talk About HIV Treatment! - Greater Than AIDS
For more information about World AIDS Day events and local HIV testing sites, call DHEC's S.C. STD/HIV Hotline at 1-800-322-AIDS.