National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (Oct. 15th)

October 10, 2017

October 15 is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). The 2017 NLAAD theme is “To Defeat HIV You’re a Superhero. Use Your Superpowers.”

The Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA), the Hispanic Federation and other organizations organize this day to build capacity for non-profit organizations and health departments to reach Latino/Hispanic communities, promote HIV testing, and provide HIV prevention information and access to care.

Hispanic/Latinos in the United States (US) are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. They represent 18% of the US population yet accounted for almost 1 in 4 (24%) infections among adults and adolescents in 2015.1 Factors such as lack of health insurance, language barriers, lack of familiarity with the US healthcare system and stigma often limit the health care access of Hispanics/Latinos in the US, thereby limiting opportunities for HIV/AIDS screening and treatment. Given that Hispanics/Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the US, addressing HIV/AIDS in their community is important to the nation’s health. At the end of 2014, there were roughly 216,000 Hispanic/Latinos living with HIV in the U.S. but only 27% of the 85% that were diagnosed and aware of their affliction achieved viral suppression.

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