HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group Criticizes CDC Prevention Plans

The National Association of People Living With AIDS on Saturday at the organization's national conference in Denver criticized the CDC's new HIV/AIDS prevention strategy that will shift funding distribution away from community groups that provide education aimed at reducing unsafe sexual and drug-use behaviors in people who have not contracted HIV, the Denver Post reports (Manzanares, Denver Post, 8/17). According to a new prevention strategy announced in April, the government will invest most heavily in initiatives that focus on identifying people who are already HIV-positive, which could jeopardize approximately $90 million in annual federal funding for community groups. The CDC has said that the current emphasis on community outreach prevention programs has proven ineffective, citing an increase in the number of new HIV cases (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/29). Terje Anderson, executive director of NAPWA, said that the new CDC initiative could affect about 285 HIV-intervention programs nationwide, the Post reports. Deirdre Maloney, executive director of the Colorado AIDS Project, said that it is unclear how many Colorado programs will be affected because some programs are funded directly by the CDC and others receive CDC funds though the state. "What's really frustrating is they're trying to say what our priorities should be in our community," Maloney said. Daniel Garcia, president of the People Living With AIDS Action Network in Denver, raise concerns that the new initiative would hurt minorities because minorities in Colorado "are really so far behind as far as prevention outreach and people learning about the medications to treat HIV and AIDS" (Denver Post, 8/17).

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