"The failing grade in prevention means thousands of needlessly infected
people," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg
WASHINGTON - The Human Rights Campaign released a report card today
reflecting the U.S.'s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic to mark World
AIDS Day.
"The failing grade in prevention means thousands of needlessly
infected people," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "As we
face a global pandemic, our response to it isn't making the grade."
The first annual report card rates the U.S. government's response to the
HIV/AIDS crisis in four key areas: research; care and treatment; global
AIDS; and prevention.
"We need to aggressively pursue a coordinated and comprehensive
approach to stop this pandemic," said Stachelberg. "We must harness all
possible resources to prevent new infections, provide meaningful access
to quality care and treatment, boost research to find a cure, and
address the global crisis. It is important to note that there are many
leaders who have courageously and diligently championed HIV/AIDS issues.
This report card does nothing to take away from the good work that they
have done. Rather, this assessment shows that much critical work
remains ahead for all of us."
* Prevention: F
There are still roughly 40,000 new infections each year in the United
States. Federal funding still cannot be used for comprehensive sex
education in schools, needle exchange programs, and other
scientifically-proven methods of preventing new infections. Candid
information about prevention is far too sparse. Recent initiatives have
shifted the prevention focus from "at risk" populations to those who are
already infected, hampering funding for many minority-focused
community-based organizations (CBOs).
* Care and Treatment: D
While new and innovative drugs are being developed and care is improving
among some sectors, vast numbers of individuals living with HIV/AIDS
have little or no access to care and treatment. Many states have waiting
lists for, or have significantly limited access to, drugs through their
AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) and legislation to permit states
to cover individuals living with HIV under Medicaid is stalled in
Congress.
* Research: C
While necessary increases were provided to the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) for critical HIV/AIDS research over the past few years,
these increases have slowed down. In addition, science-based research
continues to be undermined, such as attempts to eliminate funding for
individual NIH studies and to limit the number of government employees
who can attend international research conferences.
* Global AIDS: C
It is encouraging to see policymakers from both parties acknowledge the
enormity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the necessity of crafting and
funding a global solution to this crisis. However, the results have
failed to match the rhetoric. The United States has promised to
generously fund global AIDS efforts yet has only committed a fraction of
the funds that were promised. Moreover, contributions to the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have been reduced, and the U.S.
is exporting unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs to Africa
when these programs are of questionable efficacy.
More information about HRC's work on HIV/AIDS can be found at
www.hrc.org/AIDS.
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender political organization with members throughout the
country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and
educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest
and safe at home, at work and in the community.
