[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 144 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING NATIONAL LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 15, 2003

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to recognize October 
15 as the first ever National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. On this day, 
in over 100 cities throughout the United States, Latino leadership will 
sponsor a variety of activities raising awareness of the state of AIDS 
among Latinos.
  For the past twenty years, AIDS has posed a formidable threat to 
Latino communities and families. As of December 2001, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been 149,742 
cumulative Latino AIDS cases in the United States. Latinos in the 
United States have been disproportionately affected by the AIDS 
epidemic. Although Latinos comprise 14 percent of the population in the 
United States, they account for 20 percent of all those living with 
AIDS. Furthermore, Latinos are over represented in the number of new 
HIV infections and AIDS cases. Two groups in particular, Latinas and 
Latino youth, have been acutely affected. The rate of Latinas with AIDS 
as a proportion of all Latino AIDS cases has climbed from 15 percent in 
1990 to 23 percent in 2000. Latino teens make up 15 percent of the 
national teenage population but account for 21 percent of new AIDS 
cases.
  In Los Angeles County, an estimated 52,000 men, women, and children 
are living with AIDS. In 2000, Latinos comprised 41.8 percent of AIDS 
cases LA County. A rather heartbreaking reality is that in Los Angeles, 
nearly half of all newborns with HIV are Latino. And as of December 31, 
2001, in my community of the San Gabriel Valley, there are 1,121 people 
living with AIDS.
  As the nation's largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in 
the United States, addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Latino 
community takes on an even greater significance in the overall effort 
to improve our nation's health. National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is a 
time for our nation to recognize the needs of communities of color and 
embark on a more proactive fight against AIDS. We must do more than 
just talk about AIDS. We need to put real action behind our words and 
good intentions, particularly by adequately funding programs like the 
Minority AIDS Initiative and increasing emphasis on disease prevention.
  These are starting statistics and we must remember that behind these 
statistics are human faces and human lives, those of our sisters and 
brothers, mothers and fathers, and our colleagues and friends. On this 
first National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, I ask that we remember those 
who have lost their lives to AIDS, show compassion toward and support 
for those currently living with the disease, and pray for all families 
and communities whose lives have been touched in some way.

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