AIDS During Wartime

". . . The deluge of dollars from public and private sources has been astonishing in the aftermath of the [Sept. 11] attacks. In two weeks, charities raised half a billion dollars for victims and their families. The US government is said to have committed $40 billion to the disaster. The entertainment industry presented a telethon shown on four major television networks (and several cable channels) that raised over $150 million in just two hours. . . .

"The phenomenal reaction to the attacks will most certainly have unfavorable consequences to all national programs including efforts to combat AIDS that were underway or being planned before Sept. 11. . . . There is great concern about the future of AIDS and how the government and public will respond in wartime. . . . Government HIV research efforts will most certainly be affected if the National Institutes of Health begins prioritizing funds for research into the threat of biological warfare.

"Why didn't the world react to the global AIDS epidemic as effectively as it has to the terrorist attacks? One wonders, given the huge loss of life caused by AIDS, and the fact that the global crisis remains an overwhelming menace, why hasn't more been done? While it is not fair to pit disasters against each other, just as it is not fair to claim any disease is more exceptional than another, it is shocking to compare the worldwide and national response to AIDS to the response to the terrorist attacks. Some will say that the attacks were more immediate and emotional, but anyone who has survived AIDS would say that AIDS is just as poignant and still spreading out of control. . . .

"[According to long-time San Francisco AIDS activist Laura Thomas], 'We need to develop strategies to keep a focus on AIDS that doesn't detract from the need to take care of the survivors of the recent attacks. Pouring more money into defense and into limited civil rights in this country will only hinder our ability to care for people here, including people living with HIV/AIDS.' . . ."

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