Photo: Jacqueline García/Real America News / Impremedia
Mrs. Margarita López was passing through the center of Plaza México on Thursday at noon when she found several tables with people giving information and went over to see what it was about.
The event was an outreach fair —as part of Public Health Week— where various entities joined the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ( DPH) to offer information about sexual health services. They also delivered free kits and condoms for HIV testing at home and there was a Mobile Venereal Disease Testing Unit.
“I think It is very good that they do this because we hardly talk about it,” López said. “But they should also do it on weekends, which is when more couples and young people come, I know because I live nearby.”
The feeling was shared by Mrs. Hortensia Ríos who was accompanied by her daughter Carol Ríos, from 12 years, and also found out about the fair at that time.
She explained that the information is good since, for example, she has not talked to her daughter about sexually transmitted infections (or STDs in English) and the girl did not know the term.
“It’s something we’re going to talk about in the future”, said Hortensia somewhat intimidated.
Dr. Sonali Kulkarni, with the DPH, said that the idea of taking the health fair to a place with such a large Latino population is to end the stigma that talking about sexual health issues is forbidden.
“We try to give the information in a fun way, for example with a spinning wheel where they can answer simple questions and receive prizes”, said Kulkarni, who is medical director of the division of HIV and STD Programs. “The staff that comes to these events is very outgoing and can easily start a conversation.”
The doctor emphasized that the goal of these events is let people know that certain venereal diseases can be very common and treatable like chlamydia. But unless people are tested, they really won’t know if they have the infection.
“In Los Angeles County, approximately 50% of the population identifies as Latino and we see that a little more than 50% of venereal diseases are in the community. So it’s proportional”, said Kulkarni.
Latin mothers should check
Kulkarni said they have discovered that many Latina mothers are unaware of syphilis congenital and it is a problem that is affecting them a lot.
Syphilis is a more serious sexually transmitted disease, where if the woman who has syphilis becomes pregnant it can cause brain and bone development problems in the baby.
The doctor indicated that in 2021 in Los Angeles County 123 babies who were exposed to syphilis while in the womb.
“Syphilis is increasing across the country, but these numbers are from Los Angeles County which compared to the 2012-2013 we only had six or seven cases”, said Kulkarni.
The health authorities emphasize that it is important to be checked to ensure that there are no venereal diseases since if not treated they can leave scars in the tract women’s reproductive system and cause infertility.
Valerie Coachman-Moore, president and CEO of Coachman Moore and Associates and WeCanStopSTDsLA/Project Fierce, said that it is important to take these events where communities of color are found, mainly Latinos and blacks, because high numbers have been revealed in these groups specifically.
He asserted that while everyone pays close attention to Covid-50, which is fine, many are They have forgotten that there are other contagions, such as sexually transmitted diseases, that mainly affect young people of color and it is getting worse.
Moore said that they are in charge of informing the community in event s similar to the health fair on Thursday.
“Our values are justice, compassion, open communication, testing and treatment , and we oppose stigma. We are against shame,” said Moore.
WeCanStopSTDsLA is a movement that brings together people and organizations who live, work, serve and religiously congregate in the South and East Los Angeles areas, as well as the Antelope Valley of Los Angeles County, with the goal of reducing cases of sexually transmitted diseases among youth and young adults.
People who are interested in receiving more information you can visit:
www.wecanstopstdsla.org/