“Save a Life, It May be your Own. Get Tested for HIV.”
That is the message for this year’s National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 
(NLAAD), which our nation will observe this Friday, October 15.
On NLAAD, we pause to remember those we have lost to AIDS-related illnesses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fact sheet, Latinos and HIV/AIDS (PDF 276 KB), since the beginning of the epidemic nearly 30 years ago, more than 85,000 Latino men and women with AIDS have died. Today we honor them, and all those working to respond to the HIV epidemic in Latino communities.
The epidemic in Latino communities continues to be serious. While Hispanics represent approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, they account for an estimated 18 percent of people living with HIV in the U.S. In addition, a recently released CDC report found that approximately one in five (19%) men who have sex with men (MSM) in 20 major U.S. cities was infected with HIV. Moreover, 46% of Hispanic/Latino MSM were unaware of their infection, compared to 26% of white MSM.
We can and must do better. That is why we are working with partners across the country to implement the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The vision of the Strategy is that “The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.”
The NHAS also supports our upcoming Healthy People 2020 initiative. The initiative, which will be formally unveiled by the end of the year, seeks to help all Americans achieve health equity, eliminate health disparities, and improve overall health. Specific goals of Healthy People 2020 will include, for adults and adolescents, reducing the percentage of new AIDS cases; increasing the percentage of people who have been tested for HIV; and, for HIV-infected people, increasing the percentage who receive HIV care and treatment. CDC recommends that HIV screening be a part of routine clinical care for all patients ages 13-64. Together, the NHAS and Healthy People 2020 can help us make a positive impact on the lives and well-being of Latinos/Hispanics in the United States.
On NLAAD, we reaffirm our commitment to responding to HIV in Latino communities, and beyond. Today, I encourage all Americans ages 13-64 to take an HIV test. To find your local HIV testing center, send a text message with your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or visit www.HIVtest.org .
To learn more, visit www.AIDS.gov and www.nlaad.org .
By Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Dr. Howard Koh, HHS
To find an HIV Testing location near you,
visit: directory.poz.com
Comments from…NATIONAL DIRECTOR
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
By Kevin Fenton, M.D., Ph.D., FFPH, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC (Cross-posted from Health Protection, Perspectives Blog)
October 15 is the eighth annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), a day to take action to stop the spread of HIV in Latino communities across the United States.
Founded by the Latino Commission on AIDS , NLAAD focuses on how Latinos can work together to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the community. This year’s theme “Save A Life; It May Be Your Own” urges Hispanics/Latinos to get tested for HIV, which is critical to preventing the spread of HIV.
Getting tested for HIV is essential for Latinos as the risk of being infected with HIV is great. According to a new CDC study of HIV among Hispanics/Latinos in Puerto Rico and 37 states* in 2007, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with HIV is 1 in 36 for Hispanic males and 1 in 106 for Hispanic females. The overall risk that Hispanics/Latinos will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime is 1 in 52.
This study, which was released this week, underscores the disproportionate burden of HIV among Hispanics/Latinos as compared to whites. In fact, Latinos represent approximately 16 percent of the U.S. population, and the latest CDC estimates show that Latinos account for approximately 17 percent of new infections and 18 percent of people living with HIV. Furthermore, Hispanics are becoming infected with HIV at a rate that is three times as high as that of whites. Gay and bisexual Latino men remain hardest hit.
We cannot allow HIV to gain a foothold in our nation’s fastest growing population segment. We must face head-on the range of factors that place Latinos at high risk and may prevent them from seeking needed HIV testing and treatment. Factors to address are:
- lack of awareness about HIV infection;
- cultural and socioeconomic factors like poverty and language barriers;
- concerns about immigration status, and
- homophobia and stigma.
Preventing HIV among Latinos is a CDC priority and our efforts are as diverse as the Latino community itself. We are working to not only develop culturally- and linguistically-appropriate prevention interventions, but also to ensure that those interventions reach every corner of Latino communities. To reach even more Latinos with HIV testing opportunities, we recently announced a multi-million-dollar three-year expansion of our successful HIV testing initiative. We are also building partnerships with leading national Latino organizations by funding these groups to help them make HIV prevention a core part of their day-to-day activities through our recently-expanded Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative.
Also, recent funding from the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention Fund is supporting programs in communities hardest hit by the HIV epidemic – many of which have large Latino populations. As the new National HIV/AIDS Strategy unfolds, HIV prevention efforts will prioritize populations hardest hit by HIV, including Latinos.
We know that our efforts will make a difference in Latino communities. Please join us and start addressing the factors that put Latinos at risk for HIV/AIDS.
* Thirty-seven states that have had name-based HIV reporting since 2005: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
