Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Examiner - March 23, 2006
Mike Rupert, mrupert@dcexaminer.com
The District is one of nearly a dozen jurisdictions across the country that stand to lose millions of dollars because they have refused to track new HIV cases by name. The District currently tracks new cases using numbered codes, a decades-old practice originally meant to prevent infected residents from being stigmatized. The city does track AIDS cases by name.
"We're never going to risk our federal funding on this issue," said Council Member David Catania, I-at large.
The larger problem, city officials say, is the District doesn't know how many residents are currently infected with HIV or the number of new infections.
A report released today by the advocacy group D.C. Appleseed called the lack of information "astounding considering what we do know: The District's annual rate of new AIDS cases is nearly 12 times the national average."
Dr. Marsha Martin, who was hired to head the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs after two scathing reports led to the firing of the department's former director, said her department has partnered with the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services to oversee and improve the city's HIV surveillance program.
Martin said great progress has been made in her first 180 days, including the expansion of rapid testing sites, the creation of a sweeping health education program in D.C. Public Schools and a cleanup of sloppy financial practices.
Martin said the city has begun a "new conversation" with residents and is giving the epidemic its "highest level of commitment."
A budget hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was canceled because the mayor's office did not give the department its specific budget until early Wednesday morning.
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