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Posted: Wednesday 16 May, 2012 at 9:58 AM

National Caribbean American HIV/AIDS awareness day is June 8th, 2012

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Press Release

    ROSEAU Dominica,  May 16th, 2012  --  Mark your calendars and set the date! June 8, 2012 is National Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NCAHAAD), a national HIV/AIDS testing and treatment community mobilization initiative designed to encourage Caribbean Americans across the United States and Territorial Areas to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated around HIV/AIDS, as it continues to devastate communities around the world.

     

    The statistics show that at the end of 2009, an estimated 240,000 people were living with HIV in the Caribbean. Some 17,000 people were newly infected during 2009, and 12,000 people died from AIDS. After sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean has a higher HIV prevalence than any other area of the world, with 1 percent of the adult population infected. Heterosexual sex is the main route of transmission throughout the Caribbean. Women are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection; more than half of people living with HIV are women.

     

    Other vulnerable groups include men who have sex with men (MSM) who are often overlooked by prevention, treatment and care services. This is despite reports that HIV prevalence is as high as 32 percent among some groups of MSM.

     

    Unfortunately, many of those who are infected with HIV are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to others. It’s time to mobilize and talk about this devastating disease so we can make a difference… and there’s no better time than June 8th! On this commemorative day, Caribbean Americans are encouraged to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated around HIV/AIDS. Special events such as press conferences, town hall meetings, church services, community marches and rallies, candlelight vigils, and free HIV testing will be held throughout the nation.

     

    “We have to challenge the mindset and notion that what happens in the Caribbean stays in the Caribbean. We can turn this pandemic around if we act now.” says Autumn Smith, the 2012 Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Town Hall Meeting Event Planner and a founding member of the Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SoCA) Club of Truman College.

     

    In its seventh year, NCAHAAD organizers in Chicago remain focused on raising awareness by staging the fourth annual Town Hall Meeting: “An Emergency Call to Action – The Cost and Casualties of Silence in the
    Caribbean Community.”

     

    Hosted by the Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SoCA) Club on June 7th in the front lobby of Truman College, One of the City Colleges of Chicago, the event will kick off at 10 am. It is scheduled to be a day filled with information, a panel discussion featuring experts on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Caribbean and a keynote address by “The Voice of H.O.P.E” – adolescent and young adult motivational speaker, Mr. David Robertson.

     

    After almost 30 years, the HIV epidemic is still largely affecting most-at-risk populations, and the number of new HIV infections has not significantly declined over the last 10 years. HIV now affects women and men equally, and remains the leading cause of death among people aged 20-59.

     

    With these staggering statistics, CAMA and the SoCA Club of Truman College have launched a campaign to raise awareness among young people called “HIV/AIDS – Mek Wi Bury Dis Ting!”

     

    “The issue of HIV is an important one for young people in the Caribbean and right here in Uptown and hopefully the SoCA Club can use its influence on the campus to have a positive impact on people’s behaviour here at school and in the Caribbean,” said Natasha Gallimore, former SoCA President and current Student Government Treasurer.

     

    “It is important young people are aware of resources that exist for them, such as the Live UP website, http://www.iliveup.com/ where they can find out about HIV, learn the importance of protection, and understand how to talk about these issues to their parents, partner and friends.

     

    “By using this event to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and remind our people both here in Uptown and in our respective Caribbean islands not to discriminate against people with the disease, hopefully we can play our role in educating young people.”

     

    Several musical celebrities have served as the face and voice of this huge effort while encouraging thousands to mobilize and do something that will be long-lasting in the fight against HIV/AIDS. These include: Alison Hinds, Bunji Garlin, Claudette Peters, Fay Ann Lyons and Mr Vegas, as well as Kim Collins, the St Kitts sprinter who won 100m gold at 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, are just a few of those who deliver messaging on HIV and AIDS in a 30-second advert which has been shown across the Caribbean.

     

    For more information on National Caribbean HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, visit www.caribeilanz.com

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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