About AIDS

When Latino health officials met in Miami in October, one hot-button topic was the dramatic rise in HIV infection and AIDS among Hispanics, as they comprise only 11% of the US population but are 20% of new HIV infections. Despite a 19-year epidemic which should have gotten everyone's attention by now, HIV simply doesn't get talked about as it should, because cultural taboos about homosexuality and drug use hamper open, rational discussion about the disease. Even Hispanic leaders are reluctant to address the subject openly, lest they be branded as advocates for gay men and drug users. The CDC estimates that there are currently 170,000 Hispanics with HIV, plus 52,000 with full-blown AIDS, but many of them do not get the care that they should. Only when we get beyond this stubborn stigmatization will our society effectively work to prevent the spread of HIV and to care compassionately for the infected.

For details, see the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site, http://www.kff.org for 10/27/99.