Dear Colleague: National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day

October 12, 2023

Dear Colleague,

October 15 is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), a day to promote HIV testing, prevention, and treatment and reduce HIV stigma among Hispanic/Latino people in the United States.

Social and structural issues—such as discrimination, racism, HIV stigma, homophobia, poverty, and limited access to high-quality health care—influence health outcomes and continue to drive many health inequities, including those related to HIV. HIV disproportionately affects Hispanic/Latino people in the United States. In 2021, 10,476 Hispanic/Latino people in the United States and dependent areas were newly diagnosed with HIV, and overall, an estimated 297,200 Hispanic/Latino people had HIV . Among all Hispanic/Latino people, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men were the group most affected (193,400). Hispanic/Latino people also experience high levels of health care system mistrust, and other barriers to care, which can reduce the likelihood of HIV testing and engagement with HIV prevention and care services.

CDC is committed to addressing barriers that prevent Hispanic/Latino people from accessing high-quality HIV care. One way is by working to better understand and overcome the complex factors that cause medical mistrust among Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual men and improving accessibility to HIV services.

Help us raise awareness about HIV testing, prevention, and treatment for Hispanic/Latino people by downloading and sharing resources from CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together (Detengamos Juntos el VIH) campaign, the national campaign of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Let’s Stop HIV Together (Detengamos Juntos el VIH) is an evidence-based campaign created in English and Spanish that aims to empower communities, partners, and health care providers to reduce HIV stigma and promote HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. You can also share social media content from CDC’s digital toolkit using the #StopHIVTogether, #DetengamosElVIHJuntos, and #NLAAD hashtags.

Thank you for your continued partnership and ongoing commitment to ending the HIV epidemic. Together, we can work to enhance HIV testing, prevention, and treatment efforts among Hispanic/Latino people in the United States.

Sincerely,

/Robyn Fanfair/

Robyn Neblett Fanfair, MD, MPH
Captain, USPHS
Acting Division Director
Division of HIV Prevention
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/hiv

/Jonathan Mermin/

Jonathan H. Mermin, MD, MPH
Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS
Director
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Stay connected: @DrMerminCDC & Connections