National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day
October 15 is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). This awareness day was first observed in 2003 by the and the . National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day is an opportunity to help address the disproportionate impact of HIV on Hispanic/Latinx communities. It also serves to promote HIV testing and, in addition, stop the HIV stigma. Further, this observance is a community mobilization effort. It helps promote the effective ways to prevent, treat, and stop the transmission of HIV among Hispanic/Latinx people.
It’s important to note that Hispanic/Latino people are disproportionately affected by HIV. Social and structural issues, such as racism, HIV stigma, homophobia, poverty, and limited access to high-quality health care also influence health outcomes. These factors continue to drive inequities. Wear a red pin or red ribbon on National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day to raise awareness about AIDS.
Wear a Red Ribbon or Red Awareness Pin for National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day
Hispanic and Latino communities across the United States are very diverse. Some of this population have lived in the country for a short time. Others have completed less formal education. Still others have limited English proficiency. All groups may be at a particular disadvantage when it comes to accessing HIV testing, prevention, and treatment services. As a result, these communities are disproportionately affected by HIV. For example, in 2019, Hispanic and Latino individuals accounted for 29 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the United States. However, they only make up 18.5 percent of the total population.
HIV-Related Disparities and National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day
Reducing HIV-related disparities in Hispanic and Latino communities requires improved access to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment services. Further, HIV testing is critical for prevention efforts. When people learn they have HIV, they can take steps to protect their health and prevent further HIV transmission. HIV testing also enables people with HIV to start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible after HIV acquisition.
The Basics of HIV Prevention: Key Points to Know on National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day
- People can get or transmit HIV only through specific activities, such as sex or injection drug use. HIV can be transmitted only in certain body fluids from a person who has HIV. These fluids are blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.
- To reduce your risk of HIV, use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Do not inject drugs. If you do, use only sterile injection equipment and water, and never share your equipment with others.
- If you do not have HIV but are at risk of getting HIV, talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day to reduce the risk of getting HIV through sex or injection drug use.
Transmission
In the United States, HIV is spread mainly by:
- Having anal or vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV
- Sharing injection drug equipment (works), such as needles, with someone who has HIV
HIV can also spread from a woman with HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. You cannot get HIV from casual contact with a person who has HIV. This includes activities such as a handshake, a hug, or a closed-mouth kiss. And you cannot get HIV from contact with objects, including toilet seats, doorknobs, or dishes used by a person who has HIV.
How can a person reduce the risk of getting HIV?
- Get tested for HIV. Talk to your partner about HIV testing and get tested before you have sex.
- Choose less risky sexual behaviors. HIV is mainly spread by having anal or vaginal sex without a condom or without taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV.
- Use condoms every time you have sex. Read this fact sheet from CDC on how to use condoms correctly.
- Limit your number of sexual partners. The more partners you have, the more likely you are to have a partner with poorly controlled HIV or to have a partner with a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
- Get tested and treated for STDs. Insist that your partners get tested and treated, too. Having an STD can increase your risk of getting HIV or spreading it to others.
- Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who do not have HIV but who are at risk of getting HIV. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day to reduce the risk of getting HIV through sex or injection drug use.
- Do not inject drugs. But if you do, use only sterile drug injection equipment and water. Never share your equipment with others.
How can a person who is HIV positive prevent passing HIV to others?
Treatment with HIV medicines (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART cannot cure HIV. But it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral load). One of the main goals of ART is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.
Are HIV medicines used at other times to prevent HIV transmission?
