May 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV Awareness Day

Q. What is the Banyan Tree Project?
A. The Banyan Tree Project (BTP) is a community program designed to fight HIV-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities across the nation. Funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the Banyan Tree Project is led by San Francisco-based Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center (A&PI Wellness Center) plus a growing number of partners across the country including community-based organizations (CBOs) that have close connections within the A&PI communities, particularly those individuals at-risk or living with HIV.

Q. Why is it called Banyan Tree Project?
A. In many Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, the banyan tree – with branches that continually shoot out new roots into the ground – symbolizes anchorage and building community. It is also the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.

Q. What are the goals of the project?
A. Spanning the five years of the life of the project, the objective of the BTP is to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination in A&PI communities that delays or prevents access to critical HIV prevention and care services.

Our goals are:

•  To recognize an annual national awareness day and campaign
•  To foster national and regional leadership among popular opinion leaders (including celebrities, political, religious, business and community leaders incuding families and individuals living with HIV)
•  To sensitize the media about HIV and HIV-related stigma
•  To encourage access to HIV-related health care services, particularly HIV testing and care

Year I of BTP culminated with the first-ever National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day– Thursday, May 19, 2005 – with a flagship event in San Francisco at the Yuerba Buena Center for the Arts and simultaneous events in 9 other cities. These cities included: Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu.

This year the campaign has 15 cities holding events with the flagship event at San Francisco lead by A&PI Wellness Center. A special event this year is the Surgeon general’s visit to A&PI Wellness Center to take a tour and address members of the press recognizing the agency’s work and extending his support to the A&PI community.

Q. Who’s involved in the Banyan Tree Project?
A. A&PI Wellness Center, along with a national coalition of A&PI HIV and health nonprofit agencies and community partners are leading this pioneering national HIV awareness and stigma-reduction campaign targeting A&PI families and communities.

Our partners include:

•  Life Foundation
•  LA’s Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team
•  Chicago’s Asian Health Coalition of Illinois
•  Boston’s Massachusetts Asian & Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health
•  Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) in Washington, DC and San Francisco

Q. What is the 2nd annual National A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day about?
A. This national awareness day are designed to call attention to, and strike down long-standing stigma and discrimination towards A&PIs who are at-risk and/or living with HIV in our communities and to increase access to health resources. The day focuses on the critical role of families and friends in stopping the silence and shame around HIV/AIDS in the A&PI communities.

The A&PI Wellness Center will host a free, exciting art show open to the public. The exhibit will have a special focus on young people featuring original works by A&PI artists interpreting the fight against HIV-related stigma and increasing acceptance of HIV in A&PI communities. This will be a great opportunity to interact with A&PI artists and include Jenifer Wofford, Sakura Haru, Joel B. Tan, Diego M. Rios, Tranh “Trevor” Nguyen, Steven Chu, Ravinder Singh Rangi, Ghee Phua and Dennis Mallillin.

The event will also feature prominent film actor Jason Scot Lee and TV artist Honey Labrador. Miss San Francisco, NAME will also be present at the event to extend her support. This year is also very special as A&PI Wellness Center celebrates the beginning of its 20th year providing HIV services within the community.

There will be concurrent events in observance of the NAPIHAAD in more than 15 partner cities including Honolulu, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Jose, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Santa Ana and Seattle to name a few) as well as screenings of this year’s TV PSAs promoting the Banyan Tree Project campaign.

Related films on stigma and discrimination will be distributed including “Coming Out, Coming Home,” about A&PI gays and lesbians, produced by A&PI Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and “There is No Name for This,” by A&PI Wellness Center.

Q. Why is an awareness day needed?
A. A&PIs are the fastest growing racial/ethnic population in the United States, increasing 95 percent from 1980-1990 and another 43 percent from 1990 to 1999. The A&PI population is expected to reach 37.6 million or 9 percent of the U.S. population by the year 2050.

HIV/AIDS is increasing among A&PIs; a community which many formerly believed was immune from the disease. Statistics collected by the U.S. Centers from Disease Control & Prevention offer significant evidence supporting the spread of HIV/AIDS among A&PIs. They include the following:

• The estimated number of AIDS cases diagnosed among A&PIs in the U.S. increased by 34 per cent.
• Through 2002, an estimated 6,924 A&PIs worldwide had been given a diagnosis of AIDS. Among adults and adolescents with a diagnosis of AIDS, 87 percent were men and 13 percent were women.
• In the A&PI community, HIV/AIDS has disproportionately impacted gay and bisexual men. A total of 77 percent of all AIDS cases among A&PIs are among men who have sex with men. Furthermore, in the 33 states and U.S. Jurisdictions reporting HIV infection from July 1998 to June 1999, men who have sex with men represent 55 percent of new HIV cases among A&PI males.
• It is significant to note that a large number of female A&PIs who are HIV positive or who have AIDS, consistently report not knowing their at-risk status or report an unwillingness to divulge that information.
• Most HIV/AIDS cases in the A&PI community (78 per cent) occur in five states: California, Hawaii, New York, Texas, and Washington.

Q. What is the anti-stigma campaign about?
A. Jonathan Mann, former AIDS director of the United Nations said, “HIV is one deadly disease, AIDS is another. The stigma surrounding HIV can be a more deadly disease.” The fear, shame guilt and stigma that surround HIV have been shown to be a critical factor in the spread of the disease in A&PI communities.

The campaign is about breaking the silence around HIV/AIDS in A&PI communities and to provide support and services to those living with the disease. We are reaching out to A&PIs, at-risk or living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities. We want to inform, teach and set an example with outstanding role models for our community, medical and health providers, the media, political, religious and key opinion leaders.

Our hope is to begin the long and difficult process of changing attitudes towards HIV/AIDS to stop the epidemic. Love, acceptance, support and understanding are the factors that will reduce stigma and discrimination. Ultimately, this campaign is designed to encourage greater access for our communities to services we need and deserve, thus reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Q. (For A&PIs living with HIV/AIDS) Have you experienced discrimination as a result of HIV/AIDS and how have you dealt with it?
A. (Interviewee to speak of own personal experiences with stigma, discrimination, fear, shame, loss of face, etc. in the A&PI community and how he or she has overcome or not been able to resolve these issues.)

Q. (For A&PIs spokespeople) How and why did you become involved with HIV/AIDS?
A. (Interviewee to speak of own personal experiences and reasons for involvement with fighting the disease, stigma and discrimination.)

Q. What are some of the activities around the national awareness day?
A. We’re building community coalitions, recruiting numerous A&PI celebrities, community spokespeople, key opinion and religious leaders as well as elected officials and sponsors to gain their endorsement, support and participation.

We're promoting Banyan Tree Project and the annual national awareness day with an exciting media and marketing campaign including public service announcements (PSAs) that will air starting May and run through June, 2006, on national TV as well as locally in 15 cities. We’re creating a variety of communications materials—from posters and giveaways to a Banyan Tree Project web site—www.banyantreeproject.org, promoting the national awareness day, providing information on the project, downloadable versions of the Banyan Tree pledge as well as the PSAs, materials for prospective partners who wish to join the BTP, donations page, a press room and links to other A&PI community and health organizations.

Together, we believe we will send a tremendously powerful message about fighting discrimination, stigma and HIV/AIDS in A&PI communities.

Q. Will you offer free HIV testing?
A. We have partners in 15 cities, some of whom are direct service providers, others which offer education and referrals. Each regional partner will respond to questions, offer information, and provide services and referrals as requested. You can call 1-866-5BANYAN for more information.

Q. What can people do if they want to support the national awareness day?
A. We believe there is no clearer and more powerful act than an individual lending his or her name in support of an important cause, especially when the cause is about fighting stigma and discrimination.

We have created a document called the Banyan Tree pledge, which summarizes the major goals of our campaign.

The objective is to gather as many signees’ to the Banyan Tree Pledge as possible. As it grows, this list of names will be posted and updated on A&PI Wellness Center’s and the BTP web site (www.banyantreeproject.org), publicized widely through the media, especially the ethnic press, and form part of an art display and backdrop to the National A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event on Friday, May 19, 2006, at the AT&T Ball park in San Francisco.