Important note: Information in this article was accurate in April 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, April 3, 2000
Prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports
In a soon-to-be released review of [U.S.] federal AIDS funding, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that Ryan White CARE Act funding substantially underfunds the African American and Hispanic communities. The GAO finds that:
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that of the 40,000 new infections this year, over half will be among minorities and women. African Americans account for 13% of the general population, but over 50% of the HIV positive population. Currently, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among African Americans, ages 25-44.
Angela Anderson, Johnson Square Day Care Center for Children with AIDS in Baltimore, Maryland, reported, "The mothers of our children are typically in their mid-twenties with two children and little money."
Current funding is based on AIDS cases - the end stage of HIV infection. Because HIV is not tracked, HIV/AIDS policy ignores the full extent of the disease, notes the Independent Women's Forum (IWF). Women and minorities are cheated of necessary funds, and denied participation in the treatment and prevention of the disease. Current AIDS cases reflect where the epidemic was 10 years ago, not where it's headed five years from now.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee is preparing to present a Ryan White Care Reauthorization Bill. IWF urges Congress to take this opportunity to institute standard, common, public health care practices including:
Barbara Ledeen, IWF, said, "For fifteen years we've known that more African American women contract HIV/AIDS every year than any other demographic group. Social justice demands that we not reauthorize the status quo for another five years. No moral person, no one concerned with the public good, can stand by while more AIDS orphans are born."
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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