Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky Religious Groups Join Efforts To Encourage HIV Testing

A Christian-theater troupe and other area religious leaders are participating in HIV testing efforts targeting the black community in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky as part of National HIV Testing Day, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. According to the Enquirer, local public health officials have long struggled to encourage blacks and other groups to get tested for HIV. Increased awareness efforts by black religious leaders and national initiatives – such as the "Test One Million" campaign organized by the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles – have recently focused attention on HIV/AIDS in the black community, Mamie Harris, founder and executive director of IV-Charis, the lead agency in Cincinnati for the "Test One Million" campaign, said (O'Farrell, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/23).