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On March 20, the Seventh National
Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Native people in the United States issued a
challenge to health providers, government agencies, and individuals to increase
testing in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.
According to CDC data, Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders (NOPI) and
American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) had the third and fourth highest rates
of new HIV infections in the nation. However, more than 70 percent of NHOPIs
and approximately 60 percent of AI/ANs have never been tested for HIV.
Dr. Pamela Jumper-Thurman, a senior
research scientist with Colorado State University’s CA7AE project, stated that
HIV affects native communities, but low HIV testing rates and irregular
collection procedures conceal the disease’s true impact. Jumper-Thurman
emphasized that, in addition to being tested for HIV, the community needs
public health agencies, local health departments, and community health centers
to make sure the data collection conforms to CDC recommendations.
In July 2012, CDC published
recommendations on HIV surveillance in AI/AN communities, which included
promoting routine, opt-out HIV testing and improving race/ethnicity
classification of AI/ANs in HIV surveillance data. At present, the data that
health departments and government agencies use do not give a complete
representation of the disease in smaller populations like AI/AN/NHOPI, who most
likely do not receive HIV treatment or testing.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
