AIDS Action Launches National Call to Action; U.S. AIDS Leaders Call for Comprehensive Strategy to Address HIV in America

7/11/2002

From: Marsha Martin, 34-649-725-949 (Barcelona); or Kara Fox, 202-887-0500, ext. 26, both for AIDS Action

BARCELONA, Spain, July 11 -- Today AIDS Action, the United States' largest non-governmental HIV/AIDS advocacy organization, called upon President George W. Bush, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, members of Congress, state and municipal governments and all Americans to recommit themselves to the fight against HIV/AIDS in America. With the XIV International AIDS Conference as their backdrop, U.S. AIDS leaders unveiled a National Call to Action outlining action steps and policy recommendations that all Americans must embrace to ensure the United States' efforts to fight HIV/AIDS at home parallels its global investment and attention.

"It's clear the Bush Administration and Congress have shifted the federal government's focus on AIDS from domestic to international, so we have come to the Barcelona AIDS Conference to tell U.S. leaders and the world that HIV remains a growing and serious crisis in America," said Ronald S. Johnson, chair of AIDS Action Council Board and associate executive director at New York's Gay Men's Health Crisis.

The U.S. continues to face significant challenges in its battle against HIV/AIDS. HIV infection is on the rise in America. HIV prevention programs are under attack by conservative forces. An estimated 250,000 Americans are unaware of their HIV status, and a third of those living with HIV/AIDS in America are not receiving appropriate care.

"Most alarming is the fact that Americans have grown complacent about the realities of HIV and AIDS," said Johnson. "Our young people, who now comprise 50 percent of new HIV infections in the U.S., haven't experienced the horror and death from AIDS that can debilitate a nation."

AIDS Action and its member organizations are calling for a meeting with President Bush, Administration officials, and Congressional and state leaders to identify the resources and policies essential to achieving the goals outlined in the National Call to Action.

"Twenty-one years into the epidemic, the United States is absent a clear strategy for addressing HIV in America," said Martin. "We should be careful and critical in exporting our response to the global AIDS epidemic when our efforts at home have not been entirely successful."

AIDS Action's National Call to Action urges U.S. government leaders and all Americans to address four important areas of HIV/AIDS in the United States: stigma and discrimination; access to quality care; HIV prevention; and HIV testing and counseling.

AIDS Action is the only national advocacy organization dedicated solely to shaping and advocating for far and effective policy on HIV/AIDS care and treatment services, prevention, and research. Founded in 1984, AIDS Action now represents a network of over 3,200 community-based AIDS service organizations, public health departments and AIDS education training centers.

To view AIDS Action's National Call to Action and press release in their entirety, go to the news section of http://www.witeckcombs.com.