The Wall Street Journal - Monday, 1 December 1996
Anita Sharpe, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

In addition, Funders Concerned about AIDS -- which works with about 1,800 U.S. foundations that contribute money to combat AIDS -- says that advocating targeted prevention programs has become a top priority for 1997 and beyond, according to Richard Turner, executive director of the group. By contrast, a large chunk of public funds in recent years has been spent on prevention programs aimed at the general population, specifically on counseling and testing programs.

Now, private foundations -- which give away more than $35 million a year to various AIDS groups -- are taking it upon themselves to focus their money. "There's definitely been a shift," says Donald Smith, an Atlanta psychologist who works with the Atlanta Gay Center.

The center recently submitted a program proposal to the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation to help gay men who are HIV-negative maintain safe behavior and identify effective ways to change unsafe sex practices. In recent years, according to Mr. Smith, both public and private funding groups discouraged proposals that were focused on gay men. "AIDS service organizations that wanted to get funded had to very much de-gay themselves," he said.

"The funding system tended to assume that the general education message would work fine for white gay men," said Ken Town of the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation, which gives away about $500,000 a year to AIDS groups in partnership with United Way.

The foundation also will consider a funding proposal related to needle exchange for the first time, according to Alicia Philipp, executive director. While numerous studies have shown that needle exchange programs can sharply reduce HIV transmission rates in drug users, these programs are still illegal in nine states, including Georgia, and are barred from federal funding. The Atlanta proposal is primarily concerned with convincing pharmacists and government groups "why [needle exchange] works and why it's necessary," Mr. Town said.

The Northern California Grant Makers' AIDS Task Force, which directs about $1 million a year toward AIDS programs, also is evaluating a needle exchange proposal for the first time for 1997. "We're trying to use our money more strategically," says Wendy Everett, a consultant with the group. Of the 30 prevention proposals the organization has received for the 1997 funding cycle, "100% are targeted," Ms. Everett said. In the last funding round three years ago, the proposals were "a bigger shot in the dark," she said. "People did not have a clue about prevention."

In addition to focusing on specific high-risk behaviors, funding dollars also are increasingly being directed at geographic areas with high HIV concentrations. The Prudential Foundation next year will deploy all of the approximately $400,000 a year it spends on AIDS in the greater Newark, N.J., area, where about half of New Jersey's AIDS cases are clustered, said Peter Bushyeager, program officer with the foundation. "We want to focus [the money] where it will have the greatest impact," he said. In the past, Prudential had put some corporate AIDS prevention dollars into other large multicity grants, Mr. Bushyeager said.

Fred Silverman, senior manager of community affairs for Apple Computer Inc., said funders also are more interested in supporting prevention programs that have been proved to change risky behaviors. In the past, AIDS prevention proposals consisted more of "mass public campaigns such as [public service announcements] and messages on the sides of buses," said Mr. Silverman, adding, "Now people are really seeing the need not to throw money after mass advertising."

Mr. Turner of Funders Concerned About AIDS said his organization decided to advocate targeted programs following an article in The Wall Street Journal that showed that a disproportionate amount of public AIDS prevention money in the U.S. has been spent on the low-risk, general population. The Journal story "helped a lot of private foundations think through the issue that -- while it's true anybody can get AIDS -- you've got to look at the demographics" of populations where the disease is most prevalent, Mr. Turner said.

Alexander Robinson, president of the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, said his group has always favored targeting the bulk of funding to highest-risk groups with "a small percentage of the resources directed at the general public." But because of political sensitivities surrounding homosexuals and drug users, he said, the U.S. "has never successfully done that."

961201
WJ961201

Copyright © 1996 - The Wall Street Journal. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the WSJ Permissions Desk.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1996. 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, 1996. 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. .