IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 693 
Expressing support for the designation of September 9 as ‘‘National African 
Immigrant 
and 
Refugee 
HIV/AIDS 
and 
Hepatitis 
Awareness 
(NAIRHHA) Day’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. WILSON 
of 
Florida, 
Mrs. 
CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, 
Ms. 
CROCKETT, 
Ms. 
PRESSLEY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JACKSON of 
Illinois, and Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of September 9 as 
‘‘National African Immigrant and Refugee HIV/AIDS 
and Hepatitis Awareness (NAIRHHA) Day’’. 
Whereas the number of African immigrants and refugees liv-
ing in the United States has increased by 500 percent be-
tween 1980 and 2016, and these communities are ex-
pected to continue growing at a high rate: United States 
census data have shown that the population of African 
immigrants has grown by 71 percent from 2001 to 2016 
alone; 
Whereas HIV infection rates are 6 times higher in the Afri-
can immigrant population than in the general United 
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•HRES 693 IH 
States population, and are nearly twice those of United 
States-born Black individuals; 
Whereas African immigrants face the highest average chronic 
hepatitis B rates in the country, with approximately 10 
percent of these communities living with hepatitis B; 
Whereas HIV and hepatitis B and C are preventable and 
treatable conditions, and with appropriate attention and 
focus, health outcomes among African immigrant commu-
nities can be improved and lives can be saved; 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rec-
ommends that individuals born in Africa, or individuals 
born in the United States who have at least one parent 
born in Africa, who were not vaccinated at birth, should 
be prioritized for hepatitis B testing; 
Whereas African immigrant communities face significant 
challenges to HIV and viral hepatitis testing, care, and 
treatment, and though they have high rates of infection, 
they have low rates of diagnosis and care; 
Whereas challenges to HIV and viral hepatitis testing, care, 
and treatment include stigma, fear, lack of awareness 
and knowledge, language barriers, traditional values and 
social norms, and limited access to health care services, 
and there also exists a need for providers and services to 
be culturally and linguistically appropriate to better meet 
the needs of African immigrants, in keeping with the Na-
tional Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appro-
priate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care, 
which describe a framework to deliver services that are 
culturally and linguistically appropriate and respectful, 
and that respond to patients’ cultural health beliefs, pref-
erences, and communication needs; 
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•HRES 693 IH 
Whereas immigration status is also associated with fear of 
health facilities, low acculturation and unfamiliarity navi-
gating complex health care systems, social and economic 
marginalization, fear of deportation, and a lower rate of 
health insurance, all posing considerable barriers to the 
health of African immigrants and refugees living in the 
United States; 
Whereas NAIRHHA Day is a day aimed toward bringing 
local and national attention to the health issues of HIV/ 
AIDS and viral hepatitis in African immigrant and ref-
ugee populations in the United States, in a way that is 
culturally and linguistically appropriate, and by address-
ing some of the unique issues that African immigrants in 
the United States face through awareness, education, and 
resources, NAIRHHA Day will help empower commu-
nities to take charge of their own health; 
Whereas the objectives of NAIRHHA Day include raising 
awareness and eliminating stigma; education about pro-
tection against HIV, viral hepatitis, and other related 
diseases; placing control back within the community by 
encouraging screenings and treatment, as well as hepa-
titis B vaccination; and advocating for policies and prac-
tices that promote healthy African immigrant commu-
nities, families, and individuals; 
Whereas no existing HIV/AIDS awareness day addresses the 
distinct factors influencing the high rates of HIV and 
viral hepatitis in African immigrants and refugees, 
groups which are often overlooked or misclassified as 
‘‘Black’’ or ‘‘African American’’ in HIV surveillance pro-
grams, due to not collecting or reporting on information 
about country of origin; 
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•HRES 693 IH 
Whereas with the rapid population rise of African immigrants 
in the United States, it is critical to raise awareness 
among health care and social service providers and 
among African immigrant and refugee communities about 
the risk of viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, their potential 
consequences, and opportunities for prevention, diagnosis, 
and treatment, and as African immigrants become long- 
term United States residents, it will be increasingly im-
portant to provide screening, prevention, and treatment 
of chronic and infectious diseases with a culturally sen-
sitive approach; 
Whereas building capacity within communities to promote 
knowledge, treatment, and prevention of HIV and viral 
hepatitis contributes greatly to the sustainability of the 
NAIRHHA Day initiative, for, as communities increase 
their capacity to respond to the ‘‘silent epidemics’’ of 
HIV and viral hepatitis, they will develop their own re-
sources to continue this work; and 
Whereas by encouraging more people to get tested and seek 
treatment, NAIRHHA Day is aiding those who suffer 
now and preventing others from contracting these trans-
missible diseases, and by trying to lessen, if not remove, 
the stigma behind HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis, 
NAIRHHA Day is facilitating community building and 
communication: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Afri-
can Immigrant and Refugee HIV/AIDS and Hepa-
titis Awareness (NAIRHHA) Day’’; 
(2) recognizes the importance of dedicating 
more attention and resources to addressing HIV/ 
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•HRES 693 IH 
AIDS and viral hepatitis in African immigrant and 
refugee communities across the United States; and 
(3) encourages a commitment to reducing new 
viral hepatitis and HIV infections and hepatitis B 
and C- and HIV-related deaths through more robust 
screening, vaccination, and linkage to treatment and 
care in African immigrant and refugee communities. 
Æ 
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