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| October 14, 2005 AIDS Action Observes National
Latino AIDS Awareness Day, (Washington, DC) In anticipation of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day on October 15th and in the wake of the September 30th expiration of the Ryan White CARE Act, AIDS Action releases the following statement: The U.S. HIV epidemic is an ongoing crisis that affects every resident of this country; and no one is immune to infection. However, certain sociological inequities, such as poverty, disparities in health-care access, and the limited availability of culturally appropriate health-policy information in languages other than English, have placed some populations—including Latinos—at a disproportionately high risk for HIV infection. Such sociological inequities have also reduced the likelihood that individuals within these populations—including the Latino community—will receive appropriate HIV treatment, should they become infected. The Ryan White CARE Act provides HIV treatment and care services to people who would not otherwise have the ability to access them. However, as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures show, some communities have growing rates of infection. Latinos make up 14% of the U.S. population but, the CDC reports, accounted for 20% of the newly-diagnosed AIDS cases in 2002. Because the poverty rate is disproportionately high for Latinos and the rate of health care coverage is disproportionately low, members of Latino communities often receive HIV treatment and care from services provided by Ryan White CARE Act programs. Achieving reauthorization of a modernized CARE Act that responds effectively to the country’s expanding HIV epidemic is therefore critical to ensuring that America’s Latinos, and all of its people, are able to lead long, productive, and healthy lives. For Latino populations, moreover, culturally appropriate health care information in Spanish is in high demand. “The need for more Spanish-language materials on HIV legislation and policy, as well as HIV prevention, care, and treatment, is real and growing, states AIDS Action Associate Executive Director Jenifer Johnson. “Public health depends on effective communication.” In response to this need, AIDS Action is providing, in Spanish, a full array of materials that explain, discuss, and promote its proposal for enhancing the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). ADAP is a critical part of the services provided by the Ryan White CARE Act, but it is badly strained—meaning people could be left without the treatment they need to stay alive. AIDS Action’s Spanish language materials, which include policy analysis and recommendations, posters, and personal stories, are available for viewing and downloading at http://www.aidsaction.org. AIDS Action’s membership organizations across the country are also taking part in this important day of observation by hosting special events and activities. As the executive director of one such organization, Castulo De La Rocha stresses: “The increasing rate of HIV within the Latino community signals the need for improved HIV related communications to everyone whose primary language is Spanish, but especially to our Spanish-speaking health care consumers, providers, and advocates.” Mr. De La Rocha’s organization, Altamed Health, provides health and human services to multi-ethnic and Latino communities in Southern California who are medically underserved. “By making HIV policy documents available in Spanish, AIDS Action is providing a practical and valuable contribution. Their materials ensure that more people have the information they need to understand this epidemic and to act accordingly,” he continues. “I think the posters say it best: ‘Es una cuestión de vida—It’s a matter of life.” |