This past June, KFF’s Greater Than HIV, together with Walgreens, teamed with more than 350 health departments and community-based organizations across the country for the nation’s largest National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) event!
Local testing partners were at more than 500 Walgreens in 320 cities across 45 states, including Washington DC and Puerto Rico, providing rapid HIV testing, PrEP referrals, linkages to care and general information.
In response to rising rates of other STDs, free rapid testing for syphilis and hepatitis C was also available in about a third of participating Walgreens.
Collectively, testing partners reported more than 23,800 one-on-one interactions, including:
- 7,000+ rapid HIV tests and 678 HIV self-tests
- 2,000+ PrEP referrals and linkages to HIV care
- 1,600+ rapid syphilis tests
- 1,300+ rapid hepatitis C tests
Tens of thousands of printed informational materials on HIV and STD prevention and treatment were also handed out.
A Leading Public-Private Partnership
Admiral Rachel Levine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS and chair of the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Federal Task Force, visited one of the participating stores in DC, where she spoke about the importance of community engagement.
“Collaborations with community and private sector partners are crucial. We’re working with KFF and Walgreens to offer free syphilis testing on June 27th at hundreds of locations to complement HIV Testing Day. To support this holistic approach, senior HHS officials, including myself, will visit testing sites on National HIV Testing Day to encourage HIV and syphilis testing.”
– Admiral Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS
She was joined by Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, the CDC’s Director of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Francisco Ruiz, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, and HHS Lieutenant Commander Neelam Gazarian, PharmD.
National leadership groups, including the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors, the National Coalition of STD Directors, National Coalition for Sexual Health, AIDS United, and NMAC among others, also amplified the activation through their networks.
Building Community
Testing partners report that the benefits of participation extend well beyond NHTD with large shares, reporting the activation helps them to:
- Engage their community in the importance of testing (92% of respondents);
- Raise visibility for their organization in the community (83%);
- Increase awareness about the latest in HIV prevention and treatment (79%);
- Normalize HIV testing as routine health care (77%);
- Start conversations about HIV and/or STDs beyond testing (77%); and
- Challenge stigma around HIV and/or STDs (75%).
As a testing partner in San Antonio, Texas, said, “Being part of this activation significantly amplified our outreach, allowing us to connect with a larger segment of the community and provide essential HIV testing and education services.”
Test Donations
Key partners, including Abbott Laboratories, BioLytical Laboratories, Chembio Diagnostics, Diagnostics Direct and OraSure Technologies, donated HIV and syphilis tests to support the activation. Tests not used on NHTD are retained by partners to support testing throughout the year.
Join Us for NHTD 2025!
Interested in participating in the nation’s largest HIV Testing Day activation? Click here to learn more!
