March 20, 2009

Today Is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The third annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day highlights the impact of the virus on Native Americans—American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians—and promotes the need for expanded testing and additional treatment options for this group. Commemorated yearly on March 20, this awareness day was first established by the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center.

Native Americans have the highest rate of HIV infection after African Americans and Latinos. In addition, Native people tend to be diagnosed with HIV later in their infection and are more likely to progress to AIDS than their white counterparts.

“The incidence of HIV/AIDS has risen dramatically in recent years in Native communities and cannot be ignored,” says Paul A. Kawata, executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council. “It is imperative that we take action and support HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.”

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Frederick Wright, Tampa, 2009-03-20 13:24:50
I think it is funny how Paul will take a speical day to put out a sound bite for adovacy. Hee hee.. The Native Americans have been begging for action and once a year a sound bite comes out. I feel so sorry for Natives and the Black Community for they are so afaid to speak up for themselves in freedom that as in the past a group will take away their resource, sad sad sad of our socialty in the slavery of the Native and Black of fear to speak out and uses a Asia to make a sound bite once a year.