Today marks the last official day of Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month. It also is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), a day that seeks to draw attention of the impact of AIDS within the Latino community, information sharing, and prevention. This year’s theme, “Save A Life; It May Be Your Own,” urges Hispanics/Latinos to get tested for HIV.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the issue of why AIDS impacts the Latino community in very specific ways has nothing to do with being Latino but rather has to do with the barriers linked to our identities, including poverty and migration status. In other words, yes institutional racism. I would also add that the specific ways that structural racism works in our communities impacts our access to health services.

According to the CDC :

While Hispanics/Latinos represented approximately 15% of the United States population in 2008, they accounted for 19% of people diagnosed with HIV infection in the 37 states and 5 dependent areas with long-term confidential name-based infection reporting*. From 2005-2008, the number of diagnoses of HIV infection increased in Hispanics/Latinos. The increase in the number of diagnoses may be due to increased HIV testing and other outreach efforts.

* 2008 is the latest year for which surveillance information is available.

Of course stigma plays a role as well. Far too many in our community are afraid of even getting tested for AIDS (or HIV the virus that causes AIDS) because of what that may mean to ourselves, our families and our communities. Getting an AIDS test is not an admission of being a puta. Nor does it have anything to do with diclosing your sexuality. Nor does it mean that you are gay.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender latino community especially face barriers, as there is a dearth/lack of medical professionals that understand and treat with proper cultural and personal respect.

What Hispanic/Latino Communities Can Do

Individuals can:

* Learn whether or not they are infected with HIV by getting tested
* Seek early medical care if they learn they are infected;
* Protect themselves and others from HIV through safer sex practices and not sharing needles if they inject drugs;
* Educate themselves and others about HIV;
* Get involved in their communities to help prevent HIV or provide services to those in need.

The Latino Commission on AIDS has some great bilingual resources including where you can get tested for free.