3rd Annual National Latino Aids Awareness Day.

To mark a special day of awareness and prevention against HIV/AIDS in the Latino community, the Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Federation, along with more than 1000 partners in more than 46 states across the nation, sponsored a myriad of activities and actions on Saturday October 15th to commemorate the 3rd Annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. Although October 15th is the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, it is also the first day of a continuous fight against AIDS in the Latino community.

“National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is mobilizing Latino communities around the country to take action by getting tested and educating themselves and their families about this terrible disease. We are confronting the stigma associated with HIV that keeps the disease such a dirty little secret in the broader Latino family. HIV infections may be dropping for the White community but Latinos and African Americans are facing a horrible new reality,” said Dennis de Leon, President of the Latino Commission of AIDS.

“To keep silent about AIDS is to perpetuate the epidemic and to virtually guarantee that the epidemic will continue to spread among the most vulnerable segments of our community. The goal of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is to shatter the silence around AIDS and ensure that sufficient resources are being channeled to our community-based groups who day in and day out are advocating and caring for Latinos regardless of immigration status, risk group or nationality,” stated Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, President of the Hispanic Federation.

In fact, National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) was created to open the eyes of the media, elected and appointed leadership, foundations, religious leaders, celebrities, governmental agencies and civic leaders so they will truly be our partners in addressing this health crisis. Efforts to reach Latinos about the importance of testing were a central focus of the organizers of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. Even though more than 150,000 Latino AIDS cases have been reported, and many are unaware of their HIV positive status, Latinos continue to get tested later in their illness than African Americans and Whites.

“This year in particular we want all Latinos to get tested for HIV to remove the stigma of getting tested. Knowing your status is the best way to protect yourself and protect others,” said Wesley Tahsir-Rodriguez, Director of Health for the Latino Commission on AIDS.

With that in mind, a host of organizations located in more than 350 cities across the United States have organized a wide range of activities throughout the nation involving prevention education, free testing, press conferences, a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, October 18th, and PSAs on major television networks.

For more information at http://WWW.NLAAD.ORG