Minnesota Funds HIV Prevention Programs For Foreign-Born Residents

October 24, 2007 -- Three agencies have been chosen to receive state HIV prevention funding for programs designed to reach foreign-born residents in Minnesota who are most at risk for HIV. The grants were made by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in response to legislation passed in 2007.

In announcing the grants Wednesday, MDH’s STD and HIV Section Manager Peter Carr said the programs were “necessary to promote knowledge and understanding about HIV in a culturally specific way, including addressing HIV stigma, in order to reduce the risk for HIV infection.”

Health officials noted that some foreign-born communities tend to have higher HIV infection rates and face additional cultural and language barriers that prevent them from accessing vital prevention and testing information and resources.

The awarded grantees will share $250,000 in state grant money for a two-year period, beginning November 2007. The grants will be used to support targeted programs that reach East and West African and Mexican/Latino foreign born residents.

The grant recipients are:

• African Assistance Program, serving West Africans, including Liberian and Cameroonian.
• Sub-Saharan African Youth and Family Services in Minnesota (SAYFSM), serving East Africans, including Ethiopian, Somali and Kenyan.
• Neighborhood House, serving the Mexican/Latino community.

“We selected programs that can be most successful in increasing knowledge and promote HIV testing,” said Carr. The prevention programs will focus on HIV public education and awareness campaigns that use strategic, effective, and culturally/linguistically specific educational messages targeting foreign-born Minnesota residents most at risk for acquiring or spreading HIV.

Funded agencies will work collaboratively with partners to develop media and educational products designed to increase knowledge about HIV, encourage testing for HIV, and link individuals to public health and health care resources within foreign-born communities.

The grants were awarded competitively based on priorities set by the 2007 Minnesota State Legislature and by the recommendations of a nine member review committee. The review committee was predominantly made up of people from the West African, East African, and Mexican/Latino communities.

Source: Minnesota Department of Health

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