Consul General of the U.S. Embassy in Prague Nikolas Trendowski got himself tested for HIV in Dum Svetla HIV/AIDS center in Prague on the occasion of World AIDS Day on December 1. The purpose was to help raise HIV/AIDS awareness, to highlight strong U.S. role on the topics of HIV/AIDS prevention and to help debunk myths still surrounding HIV.
“People should go and get themselves regularly tested. That’s how we can stop the HIV pandemic. Worse thing than being HIV-positive is being HIV-positive and not knowing about it,” Nikolas said during a press conference at Dum svetla.
The number of HIV-positive persons is on the rise in many countries, including the Czech Republic. The major issues are reluctance to know one’s HIV status, risky sexual behavior, and not-very-welcoming attitudes among some medical professionals.
