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In concert with National STD
Awareness Month, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America launched the
fifth annual Get Yourself Tested (GYT) campaign April 1, to promote sexual
health and lower STD incidence among people under 25 years of age. The GYT campaign—jointly
sponsored by MTV, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Planned Parenthood—consists of
online and on-the-ground initiatives, including more than 260 campus and youth
events. GYT supporters include CDC, state and local health departments,
colleges and universities, and other community and nonprofit organizations.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile
Richards emphasized key messages of the campaign, including the facts that most
sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, are treatable; almost
all STDs are curable; and untreated STDs increase the risk of infertility and
cervical cancer among women. Planned Parenthood’s goal is for young people to
“get talking, get tested, and protect themselves” from STDs, and to live the
healthiest life possible.
Although people under 25 comprise
only 27 percent of the sexually active population in the United States, half of
new STD infections occur among this group, according to CDC. During the 2011
GYT campaign, Planned Parenthood health centers tested more than 332,000 men
and women for STIs. Planned Parenthood supplies low-cost STI testing year round
and provides almost 4.5 million tests and treatments annually.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
