EDGE Miami

With the country’s third-highest rate of new HIV/AIDS infections as of 2008, Florida’s HIV/AIDS service organizations used World AIDS Day as an opportunity to remember, educate and activate their fellow Sunshine Staters about the epidemic.

While AIDS-related deaths have declined for two consecutive years in the state and new infections have dropped some six percent since 1998, an estimated 90,000 Floridians currently live with the virus. The state is home to six percent of the country’s population and 11 percent of the nation’s AIDS cases and deaths. And Miami and Fort Lauderdale are consistently among the metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of residents who live with HIV/AIDS.

Anthony Barros, spokesperson for AIDS Service Association of Pinellas, said the state’s statistics are just one of the reasons why his organization does not take World AIDS Day lightly. ASAP drew more than 200 people from the Tampa Bay area to a prayer breakfast at the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Petersburg Beach on Tuesday morning. The organization will host its 18th annual commemorative World AIDS Day gala at the Hilton Bayfront in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

"We have lost over 25 million people to the battle with AIDS and we are looking at another 38-45 million people living with HIV," Barros told EDGE as he noted a long-time ASAP client’s death earlier this year has added a particular poignancy to their festivities."Today is about remembering why those of us who have chosen to be in this battle chose that, and about rededicating ourselves to what we’re doing to make a difference."

Barros added he feels Saturday’s gala and other events are important to raise funds to provide much-sought after services to their organization’s clients. He further argued prevention messages are not reaching their targeted audience because HIV/AIDS continues to garner less coverage among national media.

"When [HIV/AIDS] is not in the face of America, we forget about its importance, and it’s up to all of our AIDS organizations across the U.S. to bring as much publicity tot this as possible," Barros stressed. "We need to give people the opportunity to know where the resources are available throughout the country, so they can go and get the answers they need. Knowledge truly is power."

Equality Florida, the Miami-Dade County Health Department’s Office of HIV/AIDS combined a World AIDS Day commemoration in Miami with a vigil to mourn slain gay teenagers Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jason Mattison, Jr. Participants addressed "stigma and its effects on the gay community." And the Miami Beach Community Health Center opened "Through the Eyes of Love," an art and photography show that depicted local artists’ thoughts and emotions on the day. The center also hosted a ceremonial reading of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on Tuesday morning.

In a statement, Congressman Kendrick Meek, who is also a U.S. Senate, addressed the day’s theme of "universal access and human rights." He reaffirmed his support of the Ryan White Act and other HIV/AIDS-specific legislation.

"World AIDS Day 2009 marks an opportunity for us to unite in common purpose to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and raise awareness about HIV testing," Meek said. "I look forward to the day when we achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care. Until that day comes, it is vital that we work together to raise awareness about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in our communities."