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African Americans
NASTAD continues to work critically to address the public health response to
the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in African American communities. NASTAD’s
African American-related work supports state and local health departments and
their efforts to combat HIV/AIDS among African Americans in their
jurisdictions.
NASTAD’s African American Advisory Committee, comprised of African American
AIDS directors and senior African American HIV program staff, assists NASTAD’s
staff in developing activities and initiatives in African American communities
aimed at reducing rates of HIV/AIDS and increasing access to care for those
living with HIV/AIDS. The advisory committee was initially established in 1998
to guide NASTAD’s development of a monograph focused on implementing health
department activities in African American communities. The monograph seeks to
raise awareness of the importance of race in program and policy development as
well as the role of racism and other historical factors in health disparities
among African Americans infected and affected by HIV.
Revised in 2007, the monograph, entitled
We Can't Wait: The Tipping Point for HIV/AIDS in African American Communities,
is designed to encourage state and local AIDS directors to continue enhancing
their work, refining promising approaches, and investigating new methodologies
and models for addressing HIV/AIDS in African American communities.
NASTAD staff works in concert with the African American Advisory Committee to
address the four priority populations identified by the committee which
include: Black gay men, women, youth and corrections. Additionally, the African
American Advisory Committee is committed to advancing the recommendations of
NASTAD’s 2005 Call to Action,“A Turning Point: Confronting HIV/AIDS in African
American Communities ,” which urges state and local health
departments, African American leaders, federal agencies, and policy makers to
mobilize their responses to this crisis.
Latinos
NASTAD’s Latino Advisory Committee, established in 2001 to bring the
voices of state and local health departments together in an advisory role,
works to discuss and address issues related to providing HIV prevention and
care services within Latino communities. The committee bridges programmatic
concerns with current policy challenges and provides guidance to NASTAD staff
in creating initiatives in providing prevention and care services for Latino
communities, regardless of immigration or citizenship status. NASTAD released
its Latino Policy document in 2001 to assist health departments in
strengthening their responses and understanding of Latino communities.
Additionally, NASTAD staff and the Latino Advisory Committee work to improve
partnerships with national Latino organizations to address common areas of
concern.
Asian and Pacific Islanders
NASTAD continues a range of activities focusing on Asian and Pacific
Islanders (A&PI), including the development of recommendations and
strategies for health departments that address the HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis
epidemics among these populations.. Key emerging issues include,the need to
recognize the diversity across A&PI communities, strengthening efforts to
collect and report HIV/AIDS data among Asian and Pacific Islander communities,
and increasing access to linguistically and culturally competent services for
specific A&PI communities.
Native Americans
NASTAD continues to enhance it efforts to support HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis
services for Native American communities. This is primarily accomplished
through a broad group of stakeholders comprised of health department staff,
representatives from national organizations, and community members who
collectively provide input to NASTAD on its efforts to address HIV/AIDS in
Native American communities. NASTAD’s report, “
Native Americans and HIV/AIDS: Key Issues and Recommendations for Health Departments,"
was created to facilitate a national dialogue between representatives from
health departments and Native American agencies and communities about ways to
build trust and capacity in Native American communities. NASTAD supports
efforts to address the structural barriers in providing services in Native
American communities, address confidentiality issues, and further identify
culturally competent program models for health departments.
Border Communities
Through the LAC, NASTAD is coordinating the development of an
epidemiologic profile along the U.S./Mexico border. This is a truly bi-national
partnership between NASTAD, epidemiologists from the state health departments
from the four U.S. states bordering Mexico, the Instituto de Servicios de Salud
en el Estado de Baja California (ISESALUD), and the Centro Nacional para la
Prevención y el Control del VIH-Sida (CENSIDA) from Mexico. The overarching
goal of the Border Epidemiologic Profile is to increase understanding of the
impact of HIV/AIDS on communities in this region. It will be used to inform
service providers on programmatic strategies to address the epidemic among
these communities. A preliminary draft is expected in early 2007.
Youth of Color
June 2006, NASTAD convened a youth of color prevention meeting to identify
strategies to address gaps in programming within state health departments for
youth of color. Participants shared information about current HIV prevention
programs for youth of color in their jurisdictions.
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