Health

As the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prepares to launch the first annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10th throughout the United States, Community Education Group (CEG), a DC-based agency, prepares to launch two new initiatives: “Dusk to Dawn,” a community event in collaboration with other local agencies and “One of Five” a campaign to get women and girls discussing HIV and other health issues within their social and familial networks. The primary purpose of Dusk to Dawn is to raise awareness and inspire women and girls to start talking openly about HIV/AIDS and get tested for HIV on March 10, 2006.

According to Hunger in America 2006, the largest, most-comprehensive study ever conducted on domestic hunger, more than 25 million Americans—including nearly 5 million Latinos, nearly 10 million Caucasians and nearly 10 million African Americans—receive emergency food assistance from America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network each year.

Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) John P. Walters, Seventeen magazine, and teen medical experts today released a new analysis of recent findings on drug and alcohol use trends among girls. Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys.

Most programs intended to prevent or reduce HIV/AIDS have focused on “safe sex” and the use of condoms, both in this country and abroad. The use of condoms and other contraceptives have also been central to many campaigns to reduce unwanted pregnancies, particularly among teenage girls. However, some conservatives and religious critics of these programs are concerned that promoting condom use encourages promiscuity. This has apparently led to an increase in programs designed to promote abstinence from sex before marriage as a safer and more moral way to prevent HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. The question is, do these programs work?

A new Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) study sheds light on the childhood obesity crisis among girls, which affects one in five Latina girls in the United States today, by directly asking girls how they define health and what motivates them to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Bumpercar, Inc., a Hispanic advertising agency located in Santa Ana, California together with ONAC Productions from San Diego have developed a Hispanic market anti-violence advertising effort.

YouthAIDS announced Colombian singer, songwriter and guitarist Juanes has accepted the role of YouthAIDS Ambassador. As a YouthAIDS Ambassador, Juanes will work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among the world’s youth.

The National Minority Health Month Foundation (NMHMF) announces a broad-based national campaign aimed at encouraging the U.S. Congress to support the reauthorization and modernization of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act in 2006.

Hispanic smokers are nearly half as likely as white smokers to have ever used nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) when trying to quit smoking, according to a recent study published by the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The National Council on Folic Acid (NCFA) will observe National Folic Acid Awareness Week, January 9-15, 2006, by helping Hispanic women understand the benefits of increasing folic acid consumption as a part of their regular diet.