AIDS Action Council calls for more work on appropriations

The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee of the US House Appropriations Committee has recommended small increases for certain HIV/AIDS programs and flat funding for others. However, the AIDS Action Council, while viewing the recommended funding as an improvement in some areas over previous years, is inadequate overall.

"While we at [the] AIDS Action Council appreciate that this reverses the reduction in HIV/AIDS federal funding in recent memory, it's still not enough to keep pace with the growing infection rate, especially in communities of color, or to address the treatment and care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in our country," said Rebecca Haag, its executive director.

"We've always maintained that current funding amounts are not sufficient to ensure that life-saving drugs and medical treatment is available to all who are infected. Appropriations have fallen far short over the last several years while the epidemic is growing with an estimated 40,000 new HIV infections every year. The reality is we need significantly more funding. We reinforce our previous call for full funding and our prior promise to work with Congress to make sure that additional resources are made available. Today's measure is a promising start; however, it falls short of meeting the challenges of a still growing domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. We need to do more," Ms Haag continued.