October 15 is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), which was first observed in 2003 by the Hispanic Federation and the Latino Commission on AIDS. NLAAD is an opportunity to help address the disproportionate impact of HIV on Hispanic/Latinx communities, promote HIV testing, and stop HIV stigma.
Let’s take a deeper look at HIV among Hispanic/Latinx People:
HIV has a disproportionate impact on the Hispanic/Latinx population. In 2020, Hispanic/Latinx people represented 27% of new HIV diagnoses, despite making up only 19% of the U.S. population. The Hispanic/Latinx community faces unique cultural and societal challenges in HIV prevention, treatment, and care, including language barriers and mistrust of the health care system.
In 2021, 23% of new HIV diagnoses among Hispanic/Latinx people were diagnosed late, meaning those individuals were diagnosed with stage 3 HIV (AIDS) within 3 months of their initial HIV diagnosis. In the same year, only an estimated 45% of Hispanic/Latinx individuals reported ever being tested for HIV.
NLAAD Campaign: You Choose!
NLAAD’s campaign brings together Hispanic/Latinx communities and service providers, and organizations providing services to Hispanic/Latinx throughout the U.S. and territories under one theme. This year’s theme is “You Choose!” to create awareness about choosing HIV medication options better suited to each individual.
Resources
Dr. Sonya Arreola on Health Inequities Among Hispanic/Latinx Populations
Dr. Sonya Arreola, PhD, MPH is the director of Arreola Research and serves as a consulting faculty/mentor in the Visiting Professors Program for University of California San Francisco’s Department of Medicine and Prevention Science.
Webinars
HIV Vaccine Research Updates and Latinx Engagement
The presentation focuses on HIV vaccine, how they are designed, how vaccine research trials are conducted and the importance of engaging Latinx.
Presenter:
Jorge Benitez, Community Engagement Coordinator, Columbia Research Unit
Facilitated Live on: October 14, 2022
Social Determinants of Health and HIV in Latinx and Communities of Color
This webinar will address the intersection of the social determinants of health and their impact on HIV among the Latinx community as well as on communities of color in general – and the disparate impact on health equity and long-term health outcomes among medically underserved populations
Presenter:
Gregorio Millett, MPH,
amfAR – The foundation For AIDS Research
Facilitated Live on: October 6, 2020