AIDS.gov Observes National Latino AIDS Awareness Day: Fostering Communication and Using New Media throughout the Years

As we approach National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), I am reminded of work I began in 1991 when I worked full-time with the National Council of La Raza to develop technical assistance for HIV programs serving Latinos.

The impact of HIV on Latinos was profound in the early 1990s. In 1990, according to CDC, that can lead us to an AIDS-free generation.

Each year during Hispanic Heritage Month, NLAAD is observed on October 15 to acknowledge and address this disparity. This year marks the tenth national observance of NLAAD and we at HIV.gov have been blogging and using new media in support of NLAAD for several of those years. We want to remind our readers of some of our past blog posts addressing the impact of HIV on Hispanic and Latino communities.

In these posts, we’ve heard from many Federal and community leaders about the importance of increased awareness, testing and linkages to care for Hispanic and Latino populations. We’ve also talked and heard about how new media has become a critical part of strategic efforts to reach Hispanics and Latinos with prevention, care and treatment messages.

Here's a selection of our NLAAD blog posts from years past:

• Using NLAAD to Redouble Our Efforts to Respond to the HIV Prevention and Care Needs of Latinos by James Albino, Senior Program Manager, Office of National AIDS Policy and Miguel Gomez, HIV.gov Director (Oct. 14, 2011)
• National Latino AIDS Awareness Day: Save a life. It might be your own. Get tested for HIV, Latino Commission on AIDSExit Disclaimer (Oct. 15, 2010)
• National Latino AIDS Awareness Day by Kevin Fenton, M.D., Ph.D., FFPH, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Cross-posted from Health Protection, Perspectives Blog (Oct.14, 2010)
• National Latino AIDS Awareness Day by Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Oct. 13, 2010)
• United We Can Stop HIV and Prevent AIDS, Unidos Podemos Detener el VIH y Prevenir el SIDA by Deb LeBel, Partnerships Specialist, HIV.gov (Oct. 13, 2009)
• Reaching Latinos with New Media for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day by HIV.gov (Oct. 14, 2008)

With this year’s observance, we encourage our readers to use new media to join and enrich the conversation on and around NLAAD. Use the hashtag #NLAAD to learn what others are saying on Twitter, subscribe to the HIV.gov blog and other blogs for regular updates on this and other important issues, post messages on Facebook and other social network sites, and share the HIV/AIDS locator widget to tell someone about HIV testing nearby. We at HIV.gov will continue to blog about the HIV/AIDS Awareness Days and the use of new media to support the key messages of these observances.