"National Minority AIDS Council"

Washington, DC
September 10, 2008
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), sponsor of the 2008 United States on AIDS is proud to announce a special Opening Plenary session called:
"SOY… LA VOZ DEL CAMBIO" ("I AM… A VOICE FOR CHANGE") Heroes in the
Response to the Latino AIDS Crisis, which will take place Thursday, September 18, 2008 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County
Convention Center from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

This special session is being organized by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Univision, with support from the Latino Commission on AIDS, as part of an ongoing partnership to inform Latinos about HIV/AIDS. It will be moderated by
award-winning television personality and journalist, Teresa Rodriguez, co-host
of Univision's "Aqui y Ahora," and include an intimate conversation with heroes working on the frontlines of the Latino AIDS response. Attendees also will see a sneak preview of SOY… (I AM…), the first national Spanish-
language media campaign profiling Latinos living with HIV and their loved ones. You can view the trailer here:
kaiserfam.wmod.llnwd.net/a2355/o23/kff/emp/2008/soy_promo_30.wmv

The need for dialogue about the impact of HIV/AIDS among Latinos has never been greater. The 2008 International AIDS Conference, held in Mexico City, marked the first time the meeting was held in Latin America, highlighting the impact of the epidemic there. And in the U.S., the latest statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that HIV continues to disproportionately impact Latino communities nationwide. HIV rates were found to be 40% higher than previously estimated overall, with
56,300 HIV cases occurring in 2006 alone, 17% of which were among Latinos.

Today, an estimated 200,000 Latinos are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, with millions more indirectly impacted by the disease. Despite these staggering numbers, few people in the Latino community want to talk about AIDS, which has helped disseminate fear, stigma and misperceptions about the disease, as well as cause new infections. Because of this fear, AIDS is claiming the lives of Latinos at four times the rate of the general U.S.
population.

About USCA
The 2008 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) will take place September 18-21, in Ft.
Lauderdale, FL, at Greater Ft.Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.
Since 1997, USCA, the largest annual HIV/AIDS meeting in the United States,
has strengthened the domestic community-based response to HIV/AIDS ...