Singer Dionne Warwick Challenges Bill Clinton to Focus HIV/AIDS Efforts on the U.S.

At a town hall meeting addressing HIV/AIDS held in Harlem last week, famous singer and longtime HIV/AIDS advocate Dionne Warwick had a request for former President Bill Clinton: Do more HIV/AIDS work here in the U.S. Warwick said during the meeting, "[Clinton] has done an enormous amount of work outside of the country ... I will confront President Clinton and ask 'Why?'"

The New York Daily News reported:

In Central and East Harlem, the rate of HIV diagnoses and people living with HIV/AIDS is more than twice the rate in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control. .

One out of every 38 residents in East and Central Harlem is HIV positive, compared to just over 1 out of 100 citywide, statistics show.

"It's as dire [in the U.S.] as it is anywhere else," Warwick told the Daily News of the deadly disease. "[Clinton] can look out of his [Harlem] office window ... I want to get an appointment with him … I also want him to make it clear that he is concerned about his next-door neighbor."

A request for comment from Clinton was not returned. The former president started the Clinton Health Access Initiative in 2002, which is a global organization focused on expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Other panelists included actress Sheryl Lee Ralph; former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and TheBody.com's blogger Rae Lewis-Thornton.

Kellee Terrell is the former news editor for TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com.

Copyright © 2011 The HealthCentral Network, Inc. All rights reserved.