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Sister to Sister only takes about 20 minutes to deliver, meaning it can be completed during a routine health care visit. It focuses on helping women better understand their HIV risk, and build the skills and confidence they need to change their behavior and reduce their chances of exposure to HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
Local health departments also provide support for persons with HIV in the continuum of care. This continuum starts with HIV testing. For those found to have HIV, it continues with entry into medical care, initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and staying in care and on ART to achieve suppression. Suppression means that the virus is at a low or undetectable level, which helps individuals with HIV maintain their health and reduces the risk of transmission.
CDC estimates that 88% of women with HIV infection have been diagnosed, but that only 45% of these women were engaged in medical care, and only 32% had achieved suppression of the virus through ART. There is strong evidence that supports the practice of getting everyone with HIV into treatment as soon as possible and staying on treatment.