Miami, October 25th, 2006

June 5th, 2006 marked the 25th Anniversary of the date the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report of a puzzling disease which we now know as HIV/AIDS.  Yet, even after 25 years, stigma, fear, social isolation and discrimination continue to hamper our efforts in combating this disease in the Hispanic community

Therefore, the Hispanic AIDS Awareness Program, in collaboration with the Miami-Dade County Health Department and the creative production of Interart Media, have created a public service awareness campaign called “25 MYTHS & 25 REALITIES” which features the support of 25 Hispanic celebrities.

In addition, the campaign has the support of Mr. Carlos Alvarez, Miami-Dade County Mayor; Mr. Thomas Liberti, Chief Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Florida Department of Health; and Ms. Lillian Rivera, Administrator, Miami-Dade County Health Department.  Their statements and the public services announcements (PSAs) were taped at Cristina Saralegui’s Blue Dolphin Studios in Miami.  These messages are available for television and outdoors/print media distribution.

The objective of the campaign is to increase AIDS awareness, promote HIV prevention and reduce the myths, stigmas and fear surrounding this disease, through the power of celebrity support.

The campaign targets the following audiences:

1. Latinos who are HIV negative and are at risk for acquiring HIV;
2. Latinos who are HIV positive and unaware of their status;
3. Latinos who are HIV positive.

According to the CDC, in the United States, about ¼ of those with HIV have not yet been diagnosed and therefore are unaware of their status.  www.cdc.gov/hiv. 

The need to join forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS cannot be overstated.  We hope you will accept our invitation to inform and protect yourselves, and therefore become part of this historical effort.

Hispanic AIDS Awareness Program is sponsored by EMS Resources and the Florida Department of Health.
EMS Resources, Inc. is a non-profit 501c (3) organization based in Miami, Florida.