At the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago June 7, Amy Nunn, assistant professor of medicine, announced a commitment that will begin next month to get 12,000 residents in a zip code of Philadelphia tested for HIV and HCV, the virus that causes hepatitis C. The effort aims to de-stigmatize getting tested and to connect people with treatment as a means of stopping the spread of the viruses. Public health approaches that discourage risk behaviors have not been enough, Nunn says, particularly within urban black communities where rates of HIV infection remain disproportionately high. Do One Thing involves several components: a large-scale social marketing and media campaign developed in partnership with Uniworld Group and Clear Channel; engaging and mobilizing volunteers and community leaders including local clergy members; going block by block to conduct widespread HIV testing in clinical and nonclinical settings; and partnership with a local federally qualified health center.
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