More than 100 organisations from across America are calling for the next President to commit to ending the AIDS epidemic in the nation. The groups, which include AIDS Action Washington, Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, have issued a “Call to Action” that has been presented to all Presidential candidates. It asks that every Presidential candidate commit to developing a results-oriented national AIDS strategy designed to significantly reduce HIV infection rates, ensure access to care and treatment for those who are infected and eliminate racial disparities. “More than 1.7 million HIV infections and over half a million deaths into the domestic AIDS epidemic, our government still does not have a comprehensive plan to respond effectively,” said Rebecca Haag , Executive Director of AIDS Action. “The wealthiest nation in the world is failing its own people in responding to the AIDS epidemic at home. Our country must develop what it asks of other nations it supports in combating AIDS: a comprehensive national strategy to achieve improved and more equitable results.” The groups, in a joint statement on Monday said that the call to action is the result of "the lack of an outcome-based response to HIV domestically. This, the groups said, has lead to unacceptable results - half of people with HIV are not in care, there is a new infection every 13 minutes, infection rates have not fallen in more than 15 years, and dramatic racial disparities are becoming even more pronounced. "America's response to AIDS is not serving those most in need,” said Phill Wilson, Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. “We cannot make significant progress on national AIDS statistics unless government and community efforts better respond to the needs of Black America, and we need a comprehensive national strategy to get there.” Julie Davids, Executive Director of Community HIV/AIDS Mobilisation Project said a plan, not "a patchwork,” is what is needed. “We need to move from a response to AIDS that is often bureaucratic to one that is evidence-based and outcomes-oriented; a response that reaches everyone at risk of infection or needing care," said Davids. The groups said that a national plan must set ambitious and credible prevention and treatment targets and require annual reporting on progress towards goals, identify clear priorities for action across federal agencies and assign responsibilities and timelines for follow-through, and address social factors that increase vulnerability to infection. Mark Cloutier, the Executive Director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation said there is an “enormous human and economic costs resulting from the lack of a focused response to HIV/AIDS domestically." Cloutier said that without action there will be more unnecessary deaths, billions of dollars in increased health care expenses and a significant loss of productivity in the economy. Ref: 365gay.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 18th September 2007 - 9:07am