In observance of the seventh annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) on October 15, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) called for greater unity throughout our communities in confronting the HIV epidemic and the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

“We must join together with a united voice to confront the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and to ensure that Latinos and all HIV infected persons have access to quality treatment and care,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Care Task Force and a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding federal health programs.  “This epidemic disproportionately impacts the Hispanic community, and studies have shown that Latinos with HIV/AIDS face greater barriers to accessing care than their white counterparts.  As we observe National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, it is critical to recommit ourselves to ensuring that Latinos and all HIV infected persons are treated with respect and receive the information, testing, treatment and care they need in a compassionate and culturally appropriate manner.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of new HIV infections among Latinos is two and a half times greater than the infection rate among whites. Moreover, 40% of Latinos nationwide with HIV develop AIDS within one year of their diagnosis, their immune system already severely compromised with an HIV-related opportunistic infection or disease. 

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard pointed out that “this alarming trend is even more severe in Los Angeles County where nearly 70% of Latinos with HIV develop AIDS within one year.”  She added that “the rate of advanced HIV progression among Latinos is almost double the national average and limited access to prevention and care, cultural barriers, language barriers, and immigration status contribute to this disparity.”

In its seventh year, National Latino Aids Awareness Day is an effective tool to increase awareness and prevention within Latino communities.  This community mobilizing campaign, held each year in commemoration of the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, seeks to bring about improvements in HIV/AIDS health care by raising awareness, promoting HIV testing, disseminating prevention strategies and connecting Latinos to crucial health care services.  In 2008, the National Latino Aids Awareness Day was supported by 380 partners who together organized 160 events in 101 cities across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  This year’s theme, “United We Can Stop HIV and Prevent AIDS” - Unidos Podemos Detener el VIH y Prevenir el SIDA, speaks to the importance of working together as a united community to foster collaboration and improve the accessibility of quality HIV/AIDS services to Latino communities throughout the U.S.

For more information regarding National Latino AIDS Awareness Day activities in your area, please visit the website at www.nlaad.org