San Mateo County to Join in World AIDS Day Activities

San Mateo County will join in observing World AIDS Day, held on Dec. 1 each year to raise awareness of AIDS.

The San Mateo County STD/HIV Program will join its community partner the African American Community Health Advisory Committee (AACHAC) to observe 2011 World AIDS Day with two events, according to county health officials.

The STD/HIV Program on Thursday will host a reception for the unveiling of an AIDS memorial quilt, constructed by incarcerated women at the Women’s Correctional Center after they participated in HIV/AIDS educational sessions that explored how HIV/AIDS has impacted their lives.

The reception will be held in the main lobby of the Health System Administration Building at 225 37th Ave. in San Mateo, from 10 – 10:45 a.m.

“It is very important to remember and honor the lives of those who have been lost to AIDS and those who continue to fight courageous battles against this disease,” Ana Martinez, team lead and counselor with the STD/HIV program, said in a statement.

“With this quilt, we are offering one more tool to raise community awareness about the need for more compassion, less stigma, and more HIV testing to save lives from the devastation of HIV/AIDS,” she said.

In addition, the STD/HIV Program will conduct workshops and screenings for HIV/AIDS at the Universal Sisters Health Conference in Burlingame on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The quilt will also be on display at Universal Sisters, a day-long screening and educational celebration designed to encourage and empower women of color to take a proactive approach in preventive health care.

That event will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Francisco Marriott in Burlingame.

Registration is required. For more information, visit www.aachac.org.

As of December 2010, San Mateo County has documented 3,075 AIDS cases and 1,651 people who are currently living with HIV/AIDS. African Americans account for 18 percent of these cases, even though they make up less than 3 percent of San Mateo County residents, according to recent census data.

For more information about World AIDS Day activities, contact Darryl Lampkin, San Mateo County HIV Prevention Coordinator, at (650) 573-3643 or dlampkin@smcgov.org.