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GMHC STATEMENT ON NEW HIV INCIDENCE DATA
New York, NY — Recent news reports have indicated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was expected to release data showing higher rates of HIV incidence in the U.S. Reported infections are expected to rise between a third and half, to as high as 55,000 or 60,000 new diagnoses per year, up from the 40,000 new HIV diagnoses reported each year for the past decade and a half.
Following is a statement from Sean Cahill, Ph.D., Managing Director of Public Policy, Research and Community Health at Gay Men's Health Crisis:
"It appears that even more people are becoming infected with HIV each year than we previously thought. We're seeing the effects of the Bush Administration's war on prevention. For years, we have been fighting HIV with one hand tied behind our back. For too long, ideologues and theocrats have held HIV prevention hostage, with public health professionals and science relegated to the sidelines. We know that condoms, sex education, and syringe exchange prevent HIV transmission. Yet under the Bush Administration, the federal government has stood firmly in the way and blocked the implementation of these life-saving interventions by localities around the country.
"'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,' yet our policies don't reflect this common sense understanding. The U.S. currently spends a paltry 4 percent of our AIDS budget on prevention. Under this administration, real spending on HIV prevention has declined by 19 percent. Instead, the Bush Administration has promoted antigay policies, launched unnecessary audits of AIDS organizations, and interfered with scientific research into sexual health at the National Institutes of Health.
"Half of new infections occur among adolescents and young adults, yet we fail to provide the most basic sex education to young people. We must get serious about prevention and provide young adults with condoms and the health education they need to stay safe and stop wasting funds on ineffective and harmful abstinence-only-until-marriage education. Data show continued high rates of infection among gay men and other men who have sex with men, particularly in black and Latino men. Data presented by the CDC at the 2007 National HIV Prevention Conference show that HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men are up substantially from 2001 to 2005. Research also shows that experiences of antigay harassment and prejudice correlate with higher risk behaviors among young gay and bisexual men, while the presence of policy interventions supportive of gay students in schools correlate with greater resiliency among young gay and bisexual men. We need to affirm the dignity and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people instead of promoting policies that demean their lives. We must also increase funding for aggressive, cutting-edge, sex-positive HIV prevention efforts targeting gay and bisexual men, including creative internet-based interventions.
"These alarming new data underline more than ever the need for a national AIDS strategy. The U.S. requires other countries to develop national plans to receive funding but, 26 years into the epidemic, our country has no strategy of its own. It is time to address the structural inequalities that make HIV particularly devastating to African Americans, gay and bisexual men of all races, young people, and women, especially black women. The time is now."
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS. Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease, help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority. In fulfilling this mission, we will remain true to our heritage by fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians. We provide services and programs to over 15,000 men, women and families that are living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in New York City, and outreach and education to hundreds of thousands throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.gmhc.org.
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© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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