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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. News
California: Priorities for AIDS Funds Shift; Federal Grants Focus on People With HIV
May 28, 2004 Fifteen California groups will share in the $49 million CDC awarded in
grants to private community organizations fighting AIDS domestically, down
from 24 groups awarded in the previous funding round. The average grant will
be $345,000, but none of the groups has been told the precise amount. In a
CDC initiative, scarce funds are being shifted from AIDS prevention programs
that focus on the HIV-negative to those focusing on those who are
HIV-positive and might transmit the virus.
Excerpted from:Two San Francisco groups, Stop AIDS Project and AGUILAS, were previously awarded grants but did not receive them this round. Conservative lawmakers had targeted Stop AIDS, which received $225,000 in direct grants from CDC annually, because they disapproved of its frank discussions of gay sexuality. Stop AIDS spokesperson Jason Riggs pledged the group would make up the difference through private donations and corporate grants, but he said other organizations might not be as lucky. AGUILAS, which focuses on prevention activities on gay Latinos, depended on the old CDC program for 40 percent of its budget. "It means we will have to reorganize. There will be some dramatic cuts in service," said Program Director Israel Nieves-Rivera. Jimmy Loyce, the city Health Department's director of AIDS programs, said the funding loss for AGUILAS and Stop AIDS coincides with a $4 million cut to San Francisco's Ryan White money and a $2.3 million reduction in direct CDC grants to the city for HIV prevention programs. La Clinica de La Raza, serving Latinos in Oakland's Fruitville district, has had its program renewed. La Clinica, which focuses on injection drug users, received a $350,000 annual grant under the old rules. San Francisco's Black Coalition on AIDS, a 19-year-old organization, also won a grant this year. Other Bay Area groups receiving federal money include the Native American Health Center, Asian and Pacific Wellness Center, Centerforce, California Prevention and Education Program, and Volunteers of America Bay Area. Back to other news for May 28, 2004 San Francisco Chronicle 05.22.04; Sabin Russell This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update. |
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