Nina Yamanis, PhD (AU) has received an NIH CFAR Administrative Supplement entitled, “Accelerating collaboration and opportunities for scale up to end the HIV epidemic for Latinas/os/xs in the Mid-Atlantic region”.
Latina/o/x individuals have annual HIV diagnosis rates three times the rates of non-Hispanic whites. Among men who have sex with men, Latinos/xs are the only racial/ethnic group for whom new HIV infections have recently increased. The CFAR MACC Latinx Working Group, founded in 2016, originated through the Mid Atlantic CFAR Consortium (MACC), and is composed of the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania CFARs. The MACC Latinx has as its mission to bring together researchers, health departments and community partners “dedicated to working collaboratively on shared concerns regarding the HIV epidemic among Latinx in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and DC”. These CFARs cover priority geographical areas in the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) plan. Our prior work together, in the form of manuscripts published and grants submitted, demonstrates our commitment to these goals and our potential for ongoing success. The goals of this meeting are to reinvigorate the group and catalyze new collaborations by bring together all stakeholders, including researchers, implementing partners, and community organizations; to identify new scientific research objectives and collaborations; and to move forward a series of foundational publications. The meeting will add value to the mission of the MACC Latinx Working Group by identifying the core components of the HIV prevention/care model for Latinos/as/xs; expanding expertise on implementation science (IS); receiving feedback on draft IS aims; and training the next generation of researchers in HIV among Latinos/as/xs. By bringing together the combined expertise and resources of stakeholders who work on HIV prevention and care with large Latino/a/x communities, we will move the field forward towards reaching the NIH and EHE goal of reducing health disparities in the incidence of new HIV infections for Latinos/as/xs.