Saturday, February 7, marks the 15th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), an initiative that aims to mobilize the African-American community around HIV testing and treatment. The NBHAAD’s four main goals are to encourage people to get educated, get involved, get tested and get treated.

In conjunction with NBHAAD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that although progress is being made regarding HIV in the black community, the issue remains a serious health crisis.

Data released in a CDC statement show that “death rates among blacks with HIV declined 28 percent from 2008 to 2012 and nearly half of people reached by CDC’s testing programs in 2013 were black. However, more than a third of people living with HIV in the United States are black, and far too many African Americans with HIV do not get the medical care and treatment they need.”