Political Quotes

“October 15 is the fifth annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, NLAAD. I rise in observance of this important day to increase our understanding of the Latino community's struggle with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As we draw attention to the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis on the Nation's Latino population, let us recognize the resulting call to action as well. When America first observed the annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day in 2003, we took stock of the dismaying statistics on HIV/AIDS among Latinos. Even though they comprise 14 percent of the U.S. population, they accounted for 19 percent of the new HIV infections estimated to occur in the country each year. Over 71,000 Latinos were thought to be living with AIDS, constituting one-fifth of all AIDS patients in America. Of those, teens and women were among the Latino population subgroups considered especially hard hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These troubling disparities persist today. Latinos continue to be overrepresented among HIV/AIDS patients, the greater barriers they face in accessing care have not gone away, and too many remain in the dark about the importance of prevention.”