National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 3/20

March 20th of every year marks National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD).  On this day communities across the country work to raise awareness about the rates of HIV infection within the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.  In a report from August 2008 the the Centers for Disease Control found that, "Even though the numbers of HIV and AIDS diagnoses for American Indians and Alaska Natives represent less than 1% of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases reported to CDC HIV/AIDS Reporting System, when population size is taken into account, American Indians and Alaska Natives in 2005 ranked 3rd in rates of HIV/AIDS diagnosis, after blacks (including African Americans) and Hispanics. American Indians and Alaska Natives make up 1.5% (4.1 million people) of the total US population. The rate of AIDS diagnosis for this group has been higher than that for whites since 1995." To read the report click here. For more information on NNHAAD and to access resources, and a map of events that are taking place nation-wide click here.

The National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NNAAPC), Colorado State University's Center for Applied Studies in American Ethnicity Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education: HIV Prevention Project (CA7AE), and Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA) organize and implement the Day.

Read Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institutes of Health statement on NNHAAD: "Tragically, the proportion of American Indians and Alaska Natives who survive after an AIDS diagnosis is smaller than that of any other U.S. racial or ethnic group. Compared with white people in the United States, American Indians and Alaska Natives suffer a higher rate of HIV infection: 14.6 cases versus 11.5 cases per 100,000 in 2006, the most recent year for which nationwide HIV incidence data are available. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders represented  13 percent of all Hawaiians with AIDS at the end of 2008, although they composed only 9.1 percent of the Hawaiian population…We as a nation must remove barriers to health care and routine HIV testing in native communities—and indeed, in all American communities—to improve the chances that individuals are diagnosed early in the course of HIV infection, when antiretroviral drugs can do the most good and opportunities for HIV prevention are greatest. Improved access to health care also would facilitate testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted infections, which place a burden on native communities and increase the risk of acquiring and spreading HIV." To read the full statement click here.

---

Ways to Take Action:

• get tested for HIV
• practice safer methods to prevent HIV
• decide not to engage in high risk behaviors
• talk about HIV prevention with family, friends, and colleagues
• provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS
• get involved with or host an event for National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in your community

[ » More News & Announcements ]