Hundreds of Latinos from the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are gathering in Washington, D.C. for what’s being called the nation’s first-ever Latino summit on HIV/AIDS. California Democrat Hilda Solis said one aim of the meeting is to spread awareness and provide more public support for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Rep. Hilda Solis: “Wherever we find a growing population of Latinos and others, we need to shout out and say that we are going to do everything in our power to bring about more funding, more services, more competency in care for the Latino community.”

Government figures show the rate of HIV/AIDS diagnosis for Latinos is three times that for whites.