The Banyan Tree Project is a national campaign to end the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities. The Banyan Tree Project produces an annual social marketing campaign, the National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) programs, targeting community-based organizations serving Asians and Pacific Islanders.
SAVING FACE CAN'T MAKE YOU SAFE. TALK ABOUT HIV—FOR ME, FOR YOU, FOR EVERYONE.
The Banyan Tree Project, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center's national anti-stigma partnership, has wrapped production on its social marketing materials! Check out our new public service announcement and fact sheets. This year's campaign slogan is "Saving face can't make you safe. Talk about HIV."
"Saving face" is a common cultural concept in A&PI communities, where individuals seek to protect the family from perceived public shame or disgrace. In practice, "saving face" contributes to silence about sex, HIV, and safe sex practices. Saving face and stigma also lead to higher rates of HIV infection and a lack of knowledge about one's HIV status:
- 1 in 3 Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV don’t know it
- Over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV
- Over two-thirds of Asians have never been tested for HIV
- Get more information about HIV/AIDS and A&PIs
- LEARN—get the facts about HIV/AIDS in the A&PI community. Know your status! Get tested!
- SHARE—talk about HIV with your family and friends.
- GET INVOLVED—Stop HIV stigma in your community! Find out about a May 19th event in your area…or host one yourself!
How can you help spread the word?
It's easy! Get ready and set to help spread the word:
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share our postings and tweets
- Embed our videos on your web page, blog, and share them by visiting our YouTube page
- Download and sign the Banyan Tree Pledge. Make extra copies for your friends to sign!
When you're ready and set, GO!
- Attend or promote a National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event. Visit our Event Page for an event in your area.
- Share our updates from Facebook on your wall and with your friends.
- Retweet our Twitter feed. Use the hashtag #May19 for any National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day related tweets.
- Embed or share our PSAs leading up to May 19 on your emails, web site, blogs, Facebook page or Twitter feed.
James Kyson Lee, of NBC's Heroes is a Banyan Tree Project spokesperson. For the 6th annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, James took time out of his busy schedule to film a special ask for the community to get educated and talk about HIV.
Kiran Ahuja is the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She is responsible for directing the efforts of the White House Initiative and the Presidential Advisory Commission on AAPIs to advise federal agency leadership on the implementation and coordination of federal programs as they relate to AAPIs across executive departments and agencies. Kiran sat down with A&PI Wellness Center Executive Director Lance Toma to film a special message to the community for May 19.
Ryan Ong Palao, also known the world over as Ongina made a special appearance on May 19 for the Banyan Tree Project's San Francisco Press Conference on the state of HIV and Hepatitis B in the Asian & Pacific Islander community. Before the press conference began, Ryan sat down with the Banyan Tree Project team to film a special statement about living with HIV and a call to action for the community on National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
California Assemblywoman and Speaker pro Tempore Fiona Ma is living with hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is often endemic in Pacific Rim countries, and it is growing in the US. May 19 was also World Hepatitis Day. Assemblywoman Ma was able to take time out of her hectic schedule to talk about hepatitis B and HIV. 1 in 10 Asians and Pacific Islanders are living with a chronic hepatitis B infection. Chronic hepatitis B is a silent killer in our community, and leads to liver cancer. Hepatitis B and HIV are transmitted in similar ways, so it is wise to ask for both a hepatitis B screening and HIV test if possible.
Saurabh Bajaj, A&PI Wellness Center’s Director of Development, was recently interviewed for Comcast Newsmakers. Saurabh talks about the problem that stigma poses for the A&PI community, and how stigma contributes to increasing rates of HIV.
News and Events
Download a PDF of our poster.
Social Networking
The Banyan Tree Project is a program of A&PI Wellness Center
Additional info
Our partners are nonprofit and community-based organizations dedicated to providing HIV referrals, education, outreach, advocacy, prevention and care services to A&PI communities.