National Latino AIDS Awareness DayExit Disclaimer, planned by The Latino Commission on AIDSExit Disclaimer and its partnersExit Disclaimer, is this Thursday, October 15. This year NLAAD organizers from LCOA, AIDS service organizations, faith communities, health departments and others are integrating a variety of communication tools — both traditional and new media — to most effectively reach their local and national audiences. Some of the tools include:

• PSAs: Soy (I Am) is a national campaign with a series of Spanish-language public service announcements (PSAs) with subtitles in English that feature Latinos living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and Latin America. In their second year of collaboration, Soy partners Kaiser Family FoundationExit Disclaimer, UnivisionExit Disclaimer, and LCOA have created fourteen new PSAs for you to embed in your website, blog, or social network site.

• • Twitter: NLAAD is using Twitter? You can also use the hashtag #NLAAD09Exit Disclaimer to help others find and join the dialog.

• • Social network sites: LCOA has also built a strong presence on social networking sites. You may want to join their cause on FacebookExit Disclaimer, or become their FacebookExit Disclaimer or MySpaceExit Disclaimer friend — and you can also find NLAAD on MTV ThinkExit Disclaimer!

• Web banners and posters: Want a web banner to show your support of NLAAD? Want a poster you can customize, or a high resolution logo or a graphic for your site or blog? The NLAAD site has a full array of downloadable resources to support the key messages of NLAAD.

These resources reflect that indeed it takes many of us working in many ways with many tools to reach many people in local communities with messages about prevention, testing, treatment, and care. NLAAD is a day to reach diverse communities to learn about the disproportionate impact of the HIV epidemic on Hispanic/Latino communities.

CDC reports that the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the U.S. continues to grow, especially among Latino and other minority communities. While Hispanics represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, they account for an estimated 18% of people living with HIV in the U.S. Most new infections among Hispanic men (72%) occur among men who have sex with men (MSM). In addition, the rate of new HIV infections among Hispanic women is nearly four times that of white women. Check out the CDC fact sheet for more information on HIV among Latinos in the U.S. (PDF).

We know the time is now, and we know why action matters. NLAAD and these shareable resources can help enable each of us to join in. United We Can Stop HIV and Prevent AIDS. Please support NLAAD this week.