National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

NATIONAL ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 20, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2005
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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw attention to the first annual National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day today, May 19, 2005. This day seeks to raise awareness among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on their community and to highlight AIDS prevention and treatment opportunities.
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AIDS has claimed the lives of over 20 million people worldwide since it was first diagnosed in 1981, and the numbers continue to grow at an alarming rate. An estimated 5,500 of 750,000 Americans who face the perils of AIDS today are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, but with the fastest-growing racial/ethnic population in the nation, this number is increasing at a staggering rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of AA/PIs living with AIDS has increased 10 percent annually over the past five years.
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Many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living with HIV/AIDS too often do not take the steps necessary to prevent and combat the disease due to cultural stigmas around issues of sex, sexuality, and drug use. Other obstacles include the fact that nearly 40 percent of AA/PIs have limited English proficiency and 13 percent live below the federal poverty line. Nearly one in five are uninsured, and many others lack adequate health insurance. That is why this day is immensely important in communicating the facts and preventative practices regarding HIV/AIDS. With increased national awareness and improved communication, HIV/AIDS information will become more widely available and more effective in crossing the social, linguistic, and economic barriers this population faces.
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It is also critically important that we expand the budgets of the CDC, especially the Office of Minority Health and the National Institutes of Health, and reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act to ensure that HIV/AIDS is addressed seriously and with adequate resources. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders face a serious health threat, and they are just one segment of the American population which battles this deadly disease on a daily basis. Our financial support is critical in providing information, medicine, care, and ultimately a cure for this debilitating disease.
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Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the first National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and working to enact healthcare solutions to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

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