NMAC Commemorates National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day This March 20

March 20^th, 2009 ~ Washington, DC ~ The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) commemorates the third annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD) today, March 20. Organized and implemented by the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NNAPC), Colorado State University's Center for Applied Studies in American Ethnicity Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education: HIV Prevention Project (CA7AE), and Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA), NNHAAD falls on the first day of spring, which represents a new beginning for more HIV resources on testing and early detection, as well as for more treatment options for Native Americans – American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.

“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.”

Native communities have the highest rate of HIV infection after African Americans and Latinos. More alarming, Native peoples tend to be diagnosed with HIV later, and are more likely to progress to AIDS, than their white counterparts. According to a 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indians and Alaska Natives also survive for a short period of time after being diagnosed with AIDS than Asians and Pacific Islanders, whites and Hispanics.

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Native gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) bear the burden of HIV/AIDS in their communities, representing nearly 75% of all new cases contracted through sexual contact and injection drug use among American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. Native women also are increasingly impacted, accounting for 29% of all HIV/AIDS diagnoses within their communities.

“These statistics indicate that stigma and social determinants – such as lack of access to education and health care – play a role in HIV transmission in Native communities, as they do in other communities of color” says Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, NMAC’s Spokesperson and Director of Government Relations and Public Policy. 

About NMAC

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) builds leadership within communities of color to address challenges of HIV/AIDS. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced this mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous publications and a website: www.nmac.org. Today, NMAC is an association of AIDS service organizations providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the AIDS epidemic. NMAC's advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. 

For more information, call NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Visit NMAC online at its website (www.nmac.org), Wikipedia page (www.wikipedia.com) or Facebook group (www.facebook.com). Pictures and video clips from past NMAC events are available on MyPhotoAlbum.com (nmacpics.myphotoalbum.com/) and Youtube.com (http://www.youtube.com/commnmac), respectively.

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