National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

March 20, 2011 is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This national observance is an opportunity for Native peoples across the United States to learn about HIV/AIDS, encourage HIV testing, and get involved in HIV prevention.

On March 20, we recognize the mounting impact of HIV/AIDS on American Indians (AIs), Alaska Natives (ANs) and Native Hawaiians. This observance day is our opportunity to collectively, and on a national scale, raise awareness of the risks of the disease to Native peoples, to help them understand the dynamics contributing to those risks, and to encourage them to get tested for HIV.

Through projects such as Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education: HIV/AIDS Prevention Project AIs and ANs are working to increase effective HIV/AIDS prevention and encourage and support early detection through testing in their communities. By culturally adapting HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs, we can limit the spread of this devastating disease among Native peoples.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a serious health threat to Native communities. Although AIs and ANs represent 1% of the U.S. population, they have historically suffered high rates of health disparities, including HIV/AIDS. Overall, more than 21% of HIV-infected Americans do not know they are infected, while among AIs and ANs this figure is closer to 26%. AIs and ANs diagnosed with HIV infection or AIDS die sooner after their diagnosis than members of any other ethnic or racial group, suggesting that they may be diagnosed late in the course of infection and underscoring the importance of educating AIs and ANs on the facts about HIV prevention, and increasing access to basic health care services. Lack of access to basic health care services, stigma associated with gay relationships and HIV/AIDS, barriers to effective mental health care, and high rates of substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, and poverty all increase the risk of HIV/AIDS in Native communities and create obstacles to HIV prevention and treatment.

The reasons Native peoples are more severely burdened by HIV and AIDS are not directly related to race or ethnicity, but rather to some of the barriers faced by many in these communities across the country. To end this epidemic, we must confront the social determinants that continue to place Native peoples at greater risk of contracting HIV. Social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness.

Make HIV testing a routine part of healthcare. To find an HIV testing location near you, go to www.hivtest.org or text your ZIP Code to KNOW IT (566948).

Spring: A Time of Change

In many cultures, spring represents a time of equality and balance and is a time of profound change, new beginnings, and birth. For these reasons, the first day of spring was chosen for the annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

What Can You Do?

• Get tested for HIV . To find a testing site center near you, text your ZIP Code to KNOW IT (566948).
• Visit the Act Against AIDS website to get the facts about HIV/AIDS, including
  • Learning the risk factors for acquiring HIV.
  • Avoiding high-risk behaviors.
  • Practicing safer methods to prevent HIV infection.
• Talk about HIV prevention with family, friends, and colleagues.
• Provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Get involved with or host an event for National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in your community.

More Information

• Indian Health Service HIV/AIDS Program
• Conversation with Commander Scott Giberson from the Indian Health Service about HIV/AIDS and American Indians and Alaskan Natives [VIDEO - 5:29 minutes]
• National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
• Colorado State University's Center for Applied Studies in American Ethnicity
• Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.