Washington Blade - May 30, 2003

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday signed into law a $15 billion bill to curb the spread of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. Additionally, the president announced that he plans to nominate a global AIDS coordinator, who will have the rank of ambassador. "America makes this commitment for a clear reason, directly rooted in our founding. We believe in the value and dignity of every human life," Bush told the audience before signing the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria Act of 2003 at the State Department. The bill recommends that 55 percent of the funds go to treatment programs in Africa, while one-third of the prevention funds will go to abstinence until marriage programs. The remaining funds will cover condom distribution programs aimed at promoting faithfulness, palliative care and programs assisting children who have lost parents to AIDS-related causes. The bill also features a provision to teach feminism to African males. According to Bush's remarks, the new global AIDS coordinator will work with federal agencies to help combat the disease.

AIDS drug program in Ariz. threatened by budget cuts

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - State health officials say hundreds of people living with HIV and AIDS could lose life-sustaining medications if the legislative Republicans' budget is adopted. Lawmakers plan to cut funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in half, a $500,000 reduction. "This is one that is really amazing they would consider cutting, given the severe side effects of the illness," said Leslie Schwalbe, the Arizona Department of Health Service's deputy director. State health officials said the program is critical because it serves people who have no other means to pay for medications that can cost $8,000 to $15,000 a year. Many of the 780 people enrolled statewide are people who work but don't make enough to pay for the drugs or for private insurance. "Our hands are tied," said Rep. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa), chair of the House Appropriations Committee "There's only so much money we can control."

Elton John headlines fund-raiser to benefit AIDS charities

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - G-strings and feathers replaced the usual staid gray suits and power ties at Vienna City Hall as Elton John took the stage for the Austrian capital's annual Life Ball to benefit AIDS charities on May 25. John dedicated "For The Boy In The Red Shoes" to a friend who died of AIDS. Thousands of guests streamed in and out of the massive neo-Gothic building, clad in everything from tuxedoes to little more than body paint. John accepted a check for more than $533,000 for his AIDS foundation to support projects in Africa. First held 10 years ago, the event is now among the largest and most colorful charity galas in the world dedicated to raising funds to fight the disease. Before of the ball's opening, organizers said they had raised about $5.4 million.

Board closes mostly-volunteer staffed AIDS home in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A group home staffed mostly with volunteers for people with HIV and AIDS, Clare House, closed after seven years. "We cannot do this anymore," said Jan Alderton, chair of the group home's board. "When it started, it was great. But we were having problems we weren't set up to handle." Jim Foxwell, Clare House director and its only full-time employee, resigned in March. Security also was a major concern, Alderton said. Clare House had room for six residents, but averaged just two a month for the past year, Alderton said. It cost about $4,000 a month to operate the house.

Gay men use nonoxynol-9 despite risks, study shows

NEW YORK - Some 61 percent of gay and bisexual men surveyed in the San Francisco Bay area did not know that the spermicide nonoxynol-9 offers no protection against HIV and might even enhance transmission, a recently released survey shows, according to Reuters Health. The survey of 573 men who have sex with men by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention was to see if the men abided by warnings issued by federal health officials since 2000 that nonoxynol-9 should not be used during anal sex. Some 61 percent, or 349, of the men said they knew of nonoxynol-9. Slightly more than half said they knew it might not protect against HIV. Of the men who knew about the spermicide, nearly two-thirds used it for anal intercourse in the previous year. Of those who used the spermicide during anal sex, some 41 percent did so without a condom because they thought it would protect against becoming HIV-positive. "So even though they were hearing the message, it wasn't translating into behavioral change," lead author Dr. Gordon Mansergh, a senior behavioral scientist at the CDC, told Reuters. Nonoxynol-9, a spermicide contained in some condoms and lubricants, destroys the protective lining of the rectum, which may allow HIV to be more easily transmitted, according to studies.
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