October 15 is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). This day marks an opportunity to increase awareness of the devastating and disproportionate effects of AIDS in the Latino community.

The toll of AIDS in the nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority population has been largely overshadowed by the epidemic among African Americans, but in major U.S. cities, as many as 1 in 4 gay Hispanic men has HIV. This rate is on par with sub-Saharan Africa, but there’s a segment of the Latino population that’s increasingly at risk that few are paying attention to.

The invisible ones

Evelidys Velez was in the prime of her life. She was in her early 20s, working on going back to school and making something of herself. Then she fell madly in love and her lover gave her HIV that he contracted from an infidelity.

Eve’s life spiraled out of control after her diagnosis. She endured bouts of depression and sought refuge in drugs like heroin and cocaine. Her short life ended last year at the age of 36 when she succumbed to pneumonia.

Eve is just one of many Latina women who are contracting HIV from their partners.

Marriage and long term relationships do not always protect a woman from becoming infected. In fact, many new infections are occurring within marriage or long-term relationships as a result of unfaithful partners. One reason is because in Latino culture, a man having more than one sexual partner is seen as expected and tolerable.

Marybeth Aponte, 19, Eve’s niece says that one of the problems is lack of realistic sex education. “It’s hard because teens are going to experiment and do what they want to do. The message is be abstinent but kids aren’t listening to that. We need more education about how to be safe. We need more STD testing and counseling in schools.”

Traditional Latino culture attaches a stigma to discussing sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexuality. Rigid gender roles in the Latino community exacerbate the lack of communication between parents and children, and between partners, about sex and preventive information. This stigma inhibits healthy behaviors: U.S. Latinos are the least likely of all other racial and ethnic groups to utilize condoms and other safe-sex practices that prevent AIDS and other STDs.

Marybeth feels that one way to counter this is through doctors. “A lot of times with females, they’re scared to talk about sex or don’t want to admit that they’re having unprotected sex. Doctors need to foster a more open dialogue about these things. They need to talk about the consequences of unprotected sex even if the girl denies it.”

But education doesn’t just lie in educating those that have not contracted the disease. “We need more information for people who already have it. People don’t realize that AIDS is no longer a death sentence. If my aunt had taken care of herself, she would be here now but she didn’t so she’s gone.”

What’s at risk?

The U.S. Latino population is expected to triple from 2000 to 2050. HIV/AIDS prevention within this population will continue to be a major priority for public health. Sadly, this reality doesn’t seem to have registered with the government: only two of the 17 approved HIV programs sponsored by the CDC targets Latinos. Officials have added Spanish-language hotlines, confidential testing sites and other initiatives aimed at filling the gap but more has to be done. You can help!

• Have an awareness campaign to promote National AIDS Awareness Day events. Did you miss the day? No worries. Everyday is a good day to spread awareness!
• Download fact sheets about the epidemic. Post them on bulletin boards, share them with local newspapers, and distribute them at events, in your house or worship, at your school, everywhere!
• Get tested! To find an HIV Testing location near you, send a text message with your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) or visit www.hivtest.org/.
• View multicultural webisodes on the link between drug abuse and HIV, and share them with your friends, post them on your facebook, myspace, tweet them out, etc!