New HIV/AIDS Campaign Targets North Carolina's Latinos
A new initiative in North Carolina hopes to tackle disproportionately high rates of HIV/AIDS among Latinos in the state, reports the News & Observer (newsobserver.com, 1/25).
The state-sponsored campaign will include Spanish-language public service announcements, free testing at Latino community festivals and efforts to rally community activists to address the problem.
Though Latinos account for six percent of North Carolina’s population, they represented eight percent of reported HIV cases in the state in 2006. According to a recent statewide survey, the HIV rate for Latinos is 29.8 cases per 100,000 people—compared to the overall state average of 23.3.
The campaign hopes to increase testing within the Latino community and overcome language barriers that might stop people from getting the care and treatment they need.
“We need the Latino community to understand the complexity and extent of this epidemic,” said Jesus Felizzola, who is coordinating the initiative.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
