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 report is the first since an August report from the powerful advocacy group led to the firing of former head Lydia Watts and the hiring of Dr. Marsha Martin, a nationally recognized health leader who played a prominent role in the Clinton administration. The August report found huge gaps in oversight, performance and financial accountability.
The new report gives the District a D-minus for its work to increase the distribution of condoms, saying the city has failed to make condoms as widely available to organizations as other jurisdictions have. D.C. also received a D-plus for its work to increase the availability of substance abuse treatment programs.
The District was given a B-minus for making the disease a top public health priority, with the group saying it was "heartened" by the city's efforts but chiding it for delays in establishing a "task force" ordered to be created by Mayor Anthony William in December. The task force has not been convened nor has its membership been publicly announced, the report said.
The report, to be officially unveiled at a press conference today, did not give the city an overall grade, but said D.C.'s efforts are, for the most part, moving in the right direction.
"There has been a surge of constructive energy in the District - within and outside the government - devoted to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic," the report states. "Even with that constructive energy, much remains to be done to produce the needed results."
Dr. Gregg Pane, head of the D.C. Health Department, which oversees the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, said he gives the city an A for effort and a B for performance.
Williams said he feels confident the city is "laying the framework" to make the District's efforts a "national model."
AIDS Efforts Get Mixed Review
- An estimated 1 in 20 District residents is infected with HIV.
- The HIV/AIDS Adminstration name was changed to the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs.
- The report gave AHPP a B-plus for improving its Web site.
- The city has endorsed the report and are using its recommendations to guide its efforts, officials said.
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