Today is World AIDS Day, held annually for awareness and commemoration.
Mecklenburg County officials say there are nearly eight thousand residents living with HIV and there were 41 HIV related deaths in 2023, the most recent year available. This summer the county offered mobile free testing sites, which are part of the county’s efforts in the Getting to Zero initiative.
County Public Health offers free HIV and STl testing along with information and referrals for clinics across the area. Health Director Doctor Raynard Washington said they have seen a positive trend in Mecklenburg dating back to 2020.
"We have seen fairly stable rates of new cases in the last 4 or 5 years, and in this year, 2025 calendar year, we're actually on track to have fewer cases than we did last year, new cases," Washington said. "I think, that's a reflection of both the progress that's that's been made through those initiatives and then the work that we're doing to make sure that individuals living with HIV are virally suppressed."
Washington also noted that there’s been an uptick in cases among Latino and Hispanic residents in the county.
"We do have some specific targeted outreach that we've been, executing to ensure that again that we're making our resources available in English and Spanish, making testing resources available through Latino Hispanic serving organizations, and again, just trying to raise awareness among our residents that again, HIV does impact us all."
