Photo from L-R: Jury Candelario, APAIT/SSG Executive Director, Elizabeth Mediano, APAIT Program Manager, James Kyson Lee, Special Guest of NBC's Heroes. ( Photo by Rene Villaroman )

Five years ago more than 7300 Asian Pacific Islanders Americans have been diagnosed with AIDS, with over 1100 cases in Los Angeles alone, declared Stephen David Simon, AIDScoordinator for the City of Los Angeles. Simon was one of the honorees in the 5th Annual Asian Pacific Islander National HIV/AIDSAwareness Day Luncheon held at the Empress Pavilion Restaurant last Tuesday.

The other honorees were actor James Kyson Lee, who plays "Ando" in NBC’s Heroes, and Rita Gonzales, executive director and co-host of IMRU, the long-running gay and lesbian radio on KPFK."Together we have looked not only at stigma and discrimination from outside, but also at stigma and discrimination from within API communities,"

Simon said. "Because we know negative attitudes towards those affected by HIV/AIDS often impact their risk, and inhibit people from accessing health services."

Simon announced that the city of Los Angeles continues in the struggle to raise awareness about HIV risk for women. Simon posed this question to the guests: "What do you think the biggest risk factor is for Asian and Pacific Islander women?"

"Marriage," Simon said. "So many women are infected by their primary male partner, while being restricted from talking freely about sex and their sexual safety." Simon said the city of LA continues in the fight against homophobia and transphobia within families and communities "because nothing can undermine our self worth than the loss of the love and protection of family."

Simon announced the city continues in the effort to ensure that the youth have access to comprehensive education about sex and sexuality "because we cannot afford to leave another generation ignorant to a wholly preventable disease."

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa launched the City of Los Angeles HIV Testing Initiative for World AIDS Day 2007, the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) joined the city as one of its inaugural partners. "The Banyan Tree Project’s call to action by getting tested; to take action by talking to their family, friends and community about HIV is a vital model; one which will help us reach our goal to expand both the supply of and demand for available and accessible HIV testing, for one million Angelenos," Simon stated.

"This is vital today because API communities have the lowest rate of HIV testing of any ethnicity, and are believed to have the highest percentage of people who are positive and do not know their status," Simon emphasized. A Banyan Tree Project study shows that as of 2005, an estimated 4,276 Asians and Pacific Islanders in the US are living with HIV/AIDS. Among these individuals, 77.1 per cent were men and 21.7 per cent women. It said that a total of 71 per cent of all AIDS cases involving men have reported gay or bisexual activity. Also glaring is the fact that a number of female Asian and Pacific Islanders who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS report not understanding their at-risk status, or have an unwillingness to divulge information about their sexual history. The study also pointed out that many government agencies and health care providers don’t perceive Asians and Pacific Islanders, especially women, as being at risk for HIV, and most A&PIs don’t learn of their HIV status until they are already very sick, or though mandatory screening.

APAIT executive director Jury Candelario said the goal of the Banyan Tree Project is to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination in A&PI communities that delays or prevents access to critical HIV prevention and care services. "HIV/AIDS continues to spread in communities of color, including Asians and Pacific Islanders," Candilario said. "Among the A&PIs as a population, AIDS diagnoses increased by 34 per cent from 1999 to 2003 in the United States; the only statistically significant increases in HIV/AIDS diagnoses among all racial groups in the US, with the A&PI women having the largest increase of all."

The Banyan Tree Project is a national social marketing campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in API communities. Throughout the year, organizations and individuals all over the country get the word out about HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS-related stigma affect APIs, through speakers’ panels, conferences, television ads, news articles, and many other methods. It is made possible with generous support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of San Fernando Valley (FACC-SFV) have been an active supporter in the prevention of HIV and AIDS project of APAIT. For the past 3 years, FACC-SFV have successfully provided workshops on HIV 101, HIV and Meth, HIV Sensitivity, and the most recent was Fostering Advocacy and Community Empowerment Skills. These workshops were made possible through St. Genevieve Youth Ministry, one of FACC-SFV community partners. - article written by Rene Villaroman of AJ Press