Washington Blade - August 15, 2003

MEXICO CITY (AP) - The government will foot the bill for medications for all Mexicans with AIDS, President Vicente Fox said last week. About 10,000 Mexican AIDS patients who can't afford to pay for their own treatment already receive government funding for medications. It wasn't clear exactly how many more patients would receive government subsidies under the plan Fox announced, however. The Health Department estimates that between 116,000 and 177,000 Mexicans were living with HIV or AIDS last year, with 16,231 new cases in 2002 alone. The department did not have a breakdown of how many individuals have HIV and AIDS, respectively, and did not have statistics for 2003. The president said his administration would extend medication subsidies to "100 percent" of the country's AIDS patients by the end of the year. But he didn't clarify whether those who have HIV also will be eligible, or if they will have to wait until they develop AIDS.

Youth sports officials backtrack, allow man with AIDS to coach

AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Officials of a youth football league have reversed their decision to bar a former firefighter with AIDS from helping coach his 7-year-old son's team. Stephen Derrig, 36, was banned on Aug. 3 from acting as assistant coach to the team of nearly 40 boys age 7 and 8. The Ellet Suburban Football League's board reversed its decision Aug. 7 after talking with medical personnel and meeting with a lawyer, League president Mike Moye said. Moye said the board plans to require the players' parents to sign a waiver acknowledging they know of Derrig's ailment. Derrig agreed to the concession. Two weeks ago, league director Dan Gable said he began receiving anonymous calls from people identifying themselves as players' parents concerned about Derrig's condition. Parents supporting Derrig told the league's board on Aug. 4 that they disagreed with the ban. Derrig, a firefighter and paramedic, said he contracted AIDS when he came into contact with blood and bodily fluids of people he was called on to help.

U.N. provides millions to fight AIDS in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - The government approved a long-delayed $41 million grant from the United Nations to help combat the AIDS pandemic ravaging South Africa, officials said last week. The grant includes money for AIDS drugs and testing for the disease in the KwaZulu-Natal province, where studies show more than one in three adults are HIV-positive. The grant will mark the first wide-scale opportunity South Africans will have to receive AIDS drugs through the public health care system. AIDS activists welcomed the grant from the United Nations' Global Fund to Fight AIDS, but blamed the government for delaying the process. The money was approved by the Global Fund over a year ago, but the government, citing technicalities, held up its approval until now.

Task force, AIDS drug maker pact means savings for patients

NEW YORK - The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) has reached agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb in negotiations seeking to provide financial relief to cash-strapped AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP). "We have now formed partnerships with each of the country's eight HIV-antiretroviral manufacturers," noted NASTAD Executive Director Julie Scofield. "This agreement between our ADAP Crisis Task Force and Bristol-Myers Squibb will help to take HIV-infected Americans off of waiting lists and give them access to life-sustaining medications." The other manufacturers joining in the partnership are Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hoffman-LaRoche, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Pfizer/Agouron. Annual savings to ADAPs nationwide based on the agreements are estimated between $60 and $65 million. Annual combined expenditures from joint state-federal ADAP programs now top $850 million, according to NASTAD. The ADAP Crisis Task Force consists of eight state representatives from ADAP programs who sought to forge savings for all ADAP programs.

Lung cancer a major threat to gays, health officials say

NEW YORK - Health leaders from across the nation are urging gay men and lesbians to be aware of the threat that lung cancer poses to them. HIV and AIDS are often focused on among gays, but other diseases also occur at a higher rate for gays than heterosexuals. According to officials leading Lung Cancer Awareness Week, which is Nov. 17-21, in 2000, 15,200 people died from AIDS, compared to 163,000 lung cancer deaths. Gay men and lesbians are at higher risk for lung cancer for several reasons, health officials say. Lesbians are at a heightened risk for cancer because they tend to weigh more and smoke more. Also, health officials estimate that 41.5 percent of gay men are smokers, compared to 28.6 percent among men in general. Lung Cancer Awareness Week coincides with the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 20. Both are focused on encouraging awareness and prevention of cancer.

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