Sunday, October 15, marks National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (#NLAAD) 2023. It’s the 20th anniversary of the campaign to promote HIV and AIDS education in the Latino community. NLAAD was created by the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) and the Hispanic Federation.

“This year’s focus is on the various ways people can protect themselves from HIV,” write the organizers on NLAAD.org. “Whether it’s a pill a day (PrEP), an injection every 2 months (long-acting PrEP), a condom every time they have sex, or a mix (condom + a form of PrEP), what’s important to know is that now people have more choices to continue having fun while enjoying peace of mind. As the theme of this year’s campaign says: ‘Do it your Way. Do it Right.’”

To find related events and campaigns, search #NLAAD on social media. Several sample posts are included throughout this article.

The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately impact the Latino community. According to federal data, in 2021, Latino people represented 19% of the U.S. population but 29% of new HIV diagnoses.

“The Hispanic/Latinx community faces unique cultural and societal challenges in HIV prevention, treatment and care, including language barriers and mistrust of the health care system. These challenges can also delay HIV testing and necessary treatment,” writes AIDSVu.org, which creates interactive maps and sharable graphics based on data about HIV and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV).

AIDSVu’s 2021 data further illustrate the challenges and health disparities concerning HIV incidence among Latinos:

  • 23% of new HIV diagnoses among Latino people were diagnosed late, meaning they were diagnosed with stage 3 HIV (AIDS) within 3 months of their initial HIV diagnosis.

  • An estimated 45% of Latino individuals reported ever being tested for HIV. Research also suggests that undocumented Latino immigrants are also more likely to be diagnosed late.

  • 18% of Latino people in the United States were living in poverty, compared to 13% of the overall U.S. population.

  • 18% of Latino people lacked health insurance, compared to just 9% of the overall U.S. population.

For more insights, see the AIDSVu interview with Luis Mares, the director of community mobilization programs at the Latino Commission on AIDS.

“The beginning of the campaign was mostly focused on testing, because the need was bigger then,” Mares tells AIDSVu about the history of NLAAD. “Over the years, the focus has changed to everything, not just testing but prevention and treatment as well. The goal of the campaign is still the same: to create awareness. We want to make the community aware of all the tools that we have now to defeat this epidemic and to be able to live a healthy life. We also want to work against health disparities in general, not just HIV.”

Earlier today in commemoration of the 20-year anniversary of NLAAD, all the Directors of this campaign created in 2003...

Posted by National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day on Thursday, October 5, 2023

NLAAD’s Facebook page includes a look at NLAAD campaigns over the years, such as this one from 2009 and 2010:

NLAAD 2009 and 2010. This is the time when Liliana Rañon became the Director of NLAAD, with the slogans of “UNIDOS” and ...

Posted by National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day on Thursday, September 21, 2023

On NLAAD.org, the organizers add context to this year’s campaign: “We want the community to have a better knowledge of the options available to prevent HIV and to enjoy life and sex with the assurance that they are protected from HIV. This campaign is directed at the entire community but focused on the people who are HIV negative and sexually active. The campaign urges them to choose one of the many preventive options to maintain their negative status—to do it in their own way but doing it in a smart and unique way. ‘Do it your way. Do it Right.’”

NLAAD 2023 Event Registration is open now. Also, this year you can request posters and donation of Orasure HIV testing kits filling the form on the link mentioned here.

Posted by National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day on Wednesday, September 6, 2023

For additional information about PrEP, PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), condoms and more, see the POZ Basics on HIV Prevention. And for a related article, see “Listen to Latino LGBTQ Love Stories That Raise HIV Awareness.”