The Latino Commission on AIDS has announced that Iván Meléndez-Rivera, MD, FAAFP, AAHIVS, will receive its prestigious Esperanza Award at the organization’s annual Cielo Gala on June 2, 2023, at Cipriani Wall Street. Dr. Meléndez-Rivera is the founder of Centro Ararat, Inc., a nonprofit community-based multidisciplinary primary healthcare system of clinics that provide care for the people of Puerto Rico. He is being honored with the Esperanza Award for contributing to a sense of hope and possibility to prevent HIV and design a world without AIDS.

The Latino Commission on AIDS’ Esperanza Award honors innovators and leaders in HIV and AIDS medical research and treatment who inspire hope for a world without the disease. Past honorees have included Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Rachel L. Levine, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, and many other renown medical professionals.

“Dr. Iván Meléndez-Rivera embodies the personal and medical commitment, passion, humility and sensitivity to design a world without AIDS,” said Guillermo Chacon, president of the Latino Commission on AIDS. “We are proud to honor his work and recognize him with our 2023 Eperanza Award.”

Dr. Ivan Melendez-Rivera

Trained in Puerto Rico, Dr. Meléndez-Rivera has been in service to the people of the island his entire medical career. He began treating patients with HIV during his Family Practice Residence Program at Dr. Pila Hospital in Ponce and has since been recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians and other professional and public organizations for his innovative and successful HIV education and treatment approaches among youth, prison populations, and the LGBTQI+ community. He founded Centro Ararat, Inc. in 2001, which now includes four primary care clinics in Ponce, Juana Diaz, San Juan, and Arecibo, and two specialized clinics focused on sexual health, prevention, and on the needs of the island’s community of men and women of transgender experience.

Tickets and sponsorships are still available for the annual Cielo Gala. To learn more about how to participate or to make a donation to the Latino Commission on AIDS, visit www.cielolatino.org