The National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) Planning Committee is planning to commemorate National Latino AIDS Awareness Day on October 15. The event will take place at Hibernian Hall, 182-186 Dudley St, Roxbury, MA from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
NLAAD was established as in 2003 in response to the severe state of emergency that Hispanic/Latino communities were confronting due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. NLAAD is a public health and community mobilizing campaign that seeks to bring about improvements in HIV related health practices by raising awareness, promoting HIV testing, disseminating prevention strategies and connecting Latinos to crucial health care services. 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 service integration in an effort to improve the accessibility of quality HIV/ AIDS services to Hispanic/Latino communities throughout the U.S.
The Boston area event will include a full program with presentations from local providers addressing the epidemiology of HIV in Massachusetts and the stigma of HIV as a barrier at providing care to Latinos. A panel of patients infected and affected by HIV will discuss their challenges and successes dealing with the disease. In addition, local organizations will provide information about their services and educate the community about HIV, STI and other chronic diseases affecting our community. Participating community members can also choose to screen for HIV, with results in 20 minutes. They may also screen for other health issues such as blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. There will also be live music and traditional food to celebrate the lives of Latinos in Boston living with HIV/AIDS.
The devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and its territories continues to put Latinos in a severe state of emergency. Hispanic/Latinos are highly vulnerable when it comes to HIV prevention and care, and as the epidemic continues to penetrate our communities, the very livelihood of our cultures is also put at risk. In 2007, Hispanics represented 15.3% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau), but accounted for 19% of Latinos living with AIDS and now are reported to be 18.0 % of those living with an undiagnosed HIV infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Limited access to prevention and care, cultural barriers, language barriers, and immigration status contribute to this disparity.
The Boston event is sponsored by ABCD, AIDS Action Committee, Boston Public Health Commission of Massachusetts, Brystol Myers Squibb, The Dimock Center, Gilead , Harvard Medical School’s Center for AIDS Research HOPE, Latin American Health Institute, MAC, Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Whittier Street Health Center More information about NLAAD can be found at http://www.nlaad.org/
