How Hispanic Leaders Tackled AIDS

The July 23 front-page story "AIDS Among Latinos on Rise" mistakenly characterized AIDS among Hispanics as a new "simmering public health crisis."

In fact, since the first days of the epidemic, Hispanics have been overrepresented among AIDS cases. The article was also wrong to focus almost exclusively on immigrants, as most Hispanics with AIDS are U.S.-born.

Moreover, Hispanic leaders responded to the AIDS crisis from the very beginning. In 1982, Rep. Edward R. Roybal, a major figure in Congress who was Hispanic, introduced the first AIDS appropriation. Our own efforts at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and those of community agencies attest to a history of commitment and care.

The real story is decades of inadequate response from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. health system to HIV-AIDS in the Hispanic community; that has allowed almost 100,000 Hispanics to die and new cases to continue to appear.

JANE L. DELGADO

President and CEO

National Alliance for Hispanic Health

Washington