New outdoor ad reminds Burners leaving Black Rock City that unprotected sex can leave a trace; Free STD testing locations easy to find

While Burning Man bills itself the “largest Leave No Trace (LNT) event in the world,” AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, has a new billboard posted on the road home from Black Rock City reminding Burners that having unprotected sex can leave a trace and getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with AHF is easy, nonjudgmental, and free.

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AHF Billboard en route to Reno from Burning Man promotes free STD testing. (Photo: Business Wire)

The billboard located on I-80 is up as of August 19, 2024 and will remain up until September 8, 2024. It faces westbound traffic on I-80 so Burners leaving Black Rock City, potentially on their way to Reno to fuel up or fly home, will see it.

“Everyone going to Burning Man wants to have fun, and no one wants to leave the playa with more than great memories,” said Michael Weinstein, AHF president and cofounder. “We want everyone to use condoms and practice safer sex, but it still is a good idea to hook up with a free, convenient, and nonjudgmental AHF STD testing site across the country.”

In addition to HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, AHF provides free STD testing and treatment at 39 Wellness Centers in 14 states nationwide, plus Washington, DC. Two of those Wellness Centers are in Nevada and five are in California.

In Nevada, HIV and STD rates increase every year. Gonorrhea rates have increased 45.3% and syphilis rates have increased 50.7% in the last five years of available data. STDs also are on the rise nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were reported in the United States” in 2022.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.9 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

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