Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Blade - May 23, 2006
Ryan Lee
Authored by Chris Collins, a consultant for the Open Society Institute's public health watch project, the report accuses the U.S. government of "failing its own citizens" by shortchanging and sabotaging prevention efforts, particularly those aimed at marginalized groups such as gay men, African Americans and drug addicts.
"There are many proud successes from U.S. efforts to address AIDS ... yet needless mortality, inadequate access to care, persistent levels of new infection and stark inequalities continue to define AIDS in America," Collins said during a teleconference about the study May 23.
He was joined at the press briefing by Black AIDS Institute Executive Director Phill Wilson; Pernessa Seele, founder and CEO of The Balm in Gilead; Judy Auerbach, vice president for public policy at the American Foundation for AIDS Research; and David Satcher, who served as U.S. Surgeon General under President Bill Clinton.
Satcher and other panelists said that presidential administrations and sessions of Congress led by both political parties have neglected the domestic AIDS crisis for most of the past 25 years since the disease first appeared. But they also agreed that scientific prevention efforts have taken an unprecedented backseat to ideology in the policies backed by President George W. Bush, who has primarily advocated an abstinence-until-marriage message.
"America has no deficit of dedicated scientists, talented health care workers or committed prevention and care providers, and yet proven-effective prevention and treatment services have not been delivered to all those in need," Collins said. "Chronic rates of HIV incidence and inadequate care access reveal a shocking level of systems failure.
"New limitations on Medicaid and flat funding for many federal AIDS programs reflect a federal response that in some ways is becoming even less responsive to demonstrable needs," Collins continued.
Bush's evangelical supporters and some conservative members of Congress have created a stifling environment for researchers interested in reaching at-risk groups with tailored prevention messages, Seele said.
Seele charged that community-based organizations are virtually absent from the decision-making table when it comes to establishing a nationwide prevention strategy, which has resulted in a government strategy that "denigrates" condoms, while extolling abstinence-only messages.
The Open Society Institute's report calls on the Bush administration to develop a comprehensive domestic AIDS strategy that is backed by the funding and vigorous commitment given to the AIDS crisis in developing countries.
"There has never been a national plan that comprehensively addresses HIV prevention, treatment and other related needs within the country's borders - and there is no comprehensive strategic plan to address AIDS today," Collins said. "AIDS reveals and exploits longstanding inequities in American society and health care access.
"The country has failed to come to grips with an interwoven set of social factors - including economic inequality, racial and gender disparities, racial discrimination and homophobia - that create vulnerabilities to HIV infections and lead to poorer outcomes from health care services," Collins said.
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