National HIV Testing Day: 9 Reasons Not To Skip It (INFOGRAPHIC)

On the eve of National HIV Testing Day 2012, the stakes are exceptionally high for African-American men and women.

Since last year's efforts by the National Association of People with AIDS, research has shown that incidence of HIV among black women in the U.S. is five times higher than previously thought.

But with that grim statistic have come tremendous strides in HIV detection and prevention. One is the promising, FDA-backed pill called Truvada, shown to repress the virus in healthy people who are at high risk of contracting it, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled a new two-year initiative on Tuesday that would make HIV testing available at pharmacies and retail stores nationwide, HuffPost Healthy Living reported.

HIV testing isn't only critical to stop the transmission of the virus, it's also essential to receiving life-extending treatment for those who are infected, the CDC says.

Here are nine more reasons not to skip National HIV Testing Day this year: