AIDS does not discriminate. It crosses racial and cultural boundaries, affecting the lives of young people and adults, men and women. However, one community has been hit particularly hard since the beginning of the epidemic: Latinos. This is the driving force behind National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) on Friday, October 15, 2004.

Organizers of NLAAD-the Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Federation, and 350 national partners-want to end the spread of HIV/AIDS among Latinos, and guarantee quality medical care, social acceptance, and community and government support for Latinos already living with the disease.

NLAAD, now in its second year, was "created to raise awareness about HIV in Latino communities, encourage Latinos to test for HIV, and break the silence and stigma surrounding HIV," says Nuris Rodriguez, advocacy coordinator for the New York-based Latino Commission on AIDS.

HIV/AIDS organizations from 45 states and 150 cities across the United States will hold events on October 15, which is the last day of Hispanic Heritage month.

"These organizations are making an incredible difference. We are reaching households that have not discussed HIV with their families before. We are reaching neighborhoods that do not have the correct information about HIV transmission. And we are also testing people who perhaps did not know where to go for free, confidential testing, and we are also reaching more youth than last year," says Rodriguez.

While Latinos account for 14 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 20 percent of AIDS cases. As of December 2002, there have been 163,940 cumulative AIDS cases among Latinos in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-an increase of 20,000 new AIDS cases since 2001.

Latino youth also contract the disease in disproportionate numbers. Latino teens account for 15 percent of the national teenage population in the U.S., yet make up 21 percent of the cumulative AIDS cases, according to the CDC. AIDS cases among Latino youth aged 13-24 rose by 22 percent in 2002.

Almost half of all Latino youth with HIV/AIDS-49 percent of males and 45 percent of females-contracted the virus through sexual contact with an infected person.

"We still have too many people engaging in risky behaviors without using effective preventive measures," says Rodriguez. "Condoms are not being used by our Latino youth and adults. Latina women are continually at risk because we do not discuss sex openly in our relationships and homes. And we continue to place our youth at risk for infection by denying them HIV education in schools."

"Stigma, fear, still very much exists in our community," says Rodriguez. "Instead of moving forward to address this disease, we are moving backwards."

Grissel Granados, an HIV-positive 18-year-old Latina from Los Angeles, agrees with Rodriguez.

Many in the Latino community "still believe that AIDS is a punishment of God, that people who get it are either gay or prostitutes," says Granados. "I definitely think that the Latino community needs to be more educated in many aspects relating to the AIDS epidemic."

NLAAD gives many Latinos an opportunity for education and community involvement. Much of the Latino community is aware of the AIDS problem. More than 40 percent of Latinos view HIV/AIDS as the "most urgent health issue," according to a 2001 Kaiser Family Foundation survey.

Yet awareness alone will not combat the epidemic. Latinos with HIV/AIDS are more likely than any other racial group to lack medical insurance.

"The government has yet to catch up with the Latino community to develop effective prevention projects," says Rodriguez.

NLAAD aims to change the face of HIV prevention in the Latino community. Grissel encourages everyone to take part in the day: "There are many levels in which one can get involved and little things people can do to help makes a big difference," she says.

So, on October 15, let us come together-strong, confident, and inspired. Let us make NLAAD not just last 24 hours, but weeks, months, and years, when, as Rodriguez declares, "we have united in one voice to say we will not wait any longer" to eradicate AIDS in the Latino community.

To get connected with NLAAD events in your community, click here.

Ana Bacic, 17, of Princeton Junction, NJ, is an editor for SEX, ETC., the national newsletter and Web site written by teens, for teens, on sexual health issues, published by the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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