Activists give Clinton administration an 'F' for HIV prevention

December 1, 1999
Web posted at: 1:43 p.m. EST (1843 GMT)

In this story: Grades higher for research and treatment Community clinic works to battle AIDS Drugs costs still hurdle for HIV patients RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- In conjunction with World Aids Day Wednesday, U.S. activists issued their second annual report card on the federal government's response to the AIDS epidemic.

AIDS Action, an umbrella group representing 3,200 community-based organizations, Tuesday gave the Clinton Administration an "F" for HIV prevention - down a grade from last year's "D." They gave the administration an "A-" for research, a "B" for care and treatment, and a "C" for the fight against global AIDS - up two grades from 1998.

The group said federal officials have dropped the ball on domestic prevention efforts and have failed to launch new initiatives on HIV prevention and education, saying young people now make up half the estimated 40,000 new cases of HIV infection in the United States every year.

AIDS Action Executive Director Daniel Zingale said, "We've spent more on teaching our kids about the make-believe world of Pokemon than on teaching them about the real dangers of HIV."

Grades higher for research and treatment

The group said continued investments in AIDS research and maintenance of funding under the Ryan White CARE Act kept grades high in the research, care and treatment areas. Last year's failing mark on global AIDS was raised to a "C" this year after the Clinton administration launched a global AIDS initiative.

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The report card was compiled by a panel of AIDS experts and advocates.

The only dissent within the group came from Mary Fisher, an AIDS advocate who has HIV. She disagreed with the research grade because of what she considers the government's failure to adequately address women's health.

According to the group, HIV is now the third leading cause of death among women ages 25 to 44.

Across the United States, the virus disproportionately strikes minorities. Of the 40,000 new HIV infections each year in the country, 30 percent, or approximately 12,000 cases, are women. Of that number, 64 percent are African American women, and 18 percent are Hispanic.

Men account for 70 percent of the country's new HIV diagnoses each year. Of that number, half are black men and 20 percent are Hispanic.

"People with lower incomes and gay people are more receptive to information about HIV and AIDS as opposed to middle class and upper-middle class African American families," said Lamont Nichols of the Watts Health Foundation.

Community clinic works to battle AIDS

Though there has been an overall decrease in the incidence of AIDS cases and AIDS deaths in the United States, African Americans are bearing the brunt of new HIV infections. In an effort to stop the trend, a Los Angeles community clinic is using patients to help identify others who might need to be tested.

Dr. Wilbert Jordan runs an HIV and AIDS clinic, called Oasis, out of the Martin Luther King Jr.- Drew Medical Center in South Central Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has the second largest AIDS population in the U.S. Almost all the patients at the Oasis clinic are from minority groups. Jordan encourages those he treats to identify friends who need testing.

"We have one (a patient) who brought in 22, 15 have tested positive ... If you really want to find those other persons that we claim are HIV-positive in our community, we have to utilize the patient more," said Jordan.

Oasis patient Gregory Clark says he tested positive 17 years ago. He brought Frank Johnson, who has never been tested before, to the clinic.

"I seen it as him being my friend, showing respect for me so I can know what's going on," said Johnson.

This kind of respect has helped Jordan diagnose as HIV-positive 51 percent of the friends of patients who voluntary come to the clinic.

That percentage far exceeds Los Angeles County's record. The county performs 57,987 tests a year, only 1 to 2 percent of which test positive for HIV.

Drugs costs still hurdle for HIV patients

While health care providers continue to struggle with education and outreach, medication costs remain an issue for those have been diagnosed.

About a dozen AIDS activists were arrested in front of the White House Tuesday after crossing a police line during a protest over AIDS drug prices.

About 200 members of the group Act Up chanted "pills cost pennies, greed costs lives" as the arrests were made. The group claims that Clinton administration trade policy makes it harder for people in developing nations to afford AIDS drugs.

Protestors carried cardboard coffins with the names of countries where they say AIDS drug prices are too high, and the words "killed by Clinton trade policy."