AEGiS-SFE: Groups say AIDS prevention programs in U.S. fall short; Organizations give praise for funding research, treatment

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Groups say AIDS prevention programs in U.S. fall short; Organizations give praise for funding research, treatment

San Francisco Examiner - December 2, 1999
Eric Rosenberg, Examiner Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Although the federal government gets high marks for bankrolling AIDS research and treatment programs, it scores an F in funding U.S. prevention programs and only a C in helping other countries battle the deadly disease, an advocacy coalition said.

"At a time of increasing HIV infection rates and evidence of laxity around safer sex, official Washington has tragically short-changed domestic prevention efforts and has failed to launch new initiatives around HIV prevention and education," AIDS Action said in a study released on the eve of Wednesday's World AIDS Day.

AIDS Action, a coalition of 3,200 advocacy groups, issues an annual report card on the federal record on AIDS programs.

In the new fiscal year, the government has allotted $695 million for AIDS prevention through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a $37.5 million increase over the previous year.

AIDS Action, however, contended the increase is not enough to bolster public education programs that might help slow the burgeoning infection rate among young people.

In what public health officials have described as an alarming trend, people under 25 comprise nearly half of the estimated 40,000 new cases of HIV infection each year in the United States.

Daniel Zingale, AIDS Action's executive director, said the trend was linked to the federal government's failure to provide more money for prevention programs.

"We've spent more on teaching our kids about the make-believe world of Pokemon than on teaching them about the real dangers of HIV," which causes AIDS, he said.

In giving the government a C-grade for trying to help stem the spread of the disease globally, AIDS Action noted that the Clinton administration has focused in the last year on the Third World, where the epidemic has struck the hardest.

The government has allotted $100 million to help other nations stem the AIDS crisis.

Still, the coalition charged, "the U.S. government has failed to aggressively support emergency care initiatives and HIV prevention worldwide."
991202
SE991201

Copyright © 1999 - San Francisco Examiner. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Examiner, Permissions Desk, 110 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 7260, San Franciso, CA 94120.

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1999. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1999. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .