Nation's Largest HIV/AIDS Conference Comes to San Diego

Almost 20 years since its first convening, the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) will make San Diego its home this October 2-5, bringing the HIV community together under one vision, to end this epidemic.

As the largest annual AIDS-related gathering in the country, USCA has stuck true to its roots, increasing the strength and diversity of the community-based response to the epidemic through education, training, collaboration and networking. USCA will continue to highlight the way the Affordable Care Act is expanding access to coverage and what that means for the Ryan White Program, while also focusing on the challenges posed by the rapidly changing health care landscape. Indeed, these changes inspired this year's theme: Transforming Together.

Featured speakers include Dr. Laura Cheever, Associate Administrator at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) Dr. Jono Mermin, as well as his successor Dr. Eugene McCray, who stepped in as Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Center earlier this month.

Also addressing attendees will be the recently appointed White House Office on National AIDS Policy (ONAP) Director, Douglas Brooks, the first Black gay man living openly with HIV to hold that position.

Additional notable speakers include, Mark Harrington from Treatment Action Group and Charles King from Housing Works, both of whom will share their experiences working to develop New York State's recently unveiled plan to end AIDS by 2020.

There will be more than 200 hundred other workshops and sessions available this year, providing advocates, activists and all those in attendance the latest and most cutting edge strategies to address the needs of those living with and vulnerable to HIV.

The target for this year's conference is the nation's diverse Latino population, with a focus on access to health care. As the largest minority group in the U.S., Hispanics are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2010, Latinos comprised 16 percent of the U.S. population or 44.3 million people, yet represented 19 percent of new HIV infections.

Latino men are more than three times as likely to be diagnosed with HIV as their white counterparts. At the same time, Latina women are four times more likely to be infected than white women. As this population continues to grow, it is particularly critical that we address the unique health care needs of Latinos if we are to realize the vision of an AIDS-free generation.

For more information visit www.nmac.org.