National Institutes of Health on National Native HIV/AIDS
Awareness DayDate: March 13, 2009 Source: National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Author: National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) HIV/AIDS has left no segment of
American society untouched. On the third annual National Native
HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we highlight the impact of this scourge
on American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, and we
intensify our commitment to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in these
multifaceted communities. Lack of access to basic health care
services, stigma associated with homosexuality and HIV/AIDS,
barriers to effective mental health care, and high rates of
substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections and poverty all
increase the risk of HIV/AIDS in native communities and create
obstacles to HIV prevention and treatment. Consequently, as a
proportion of their population, more American Indians and Alaska
Natives became infected with HIV than whites in 2006. American
Indians and Alaska Natives