NEWSEPIDEMICS

Funding by the United States for HIV-Criminalization continues in Africa.

In Africa, HIV criminalization is rampant and supported by many country officials. Ugandan parliamentarians submitted a bill last year that would make HIV criminalization a law. It has been revealed that U.S. efforts are providing funding to similar HIV criminalization efforts across Africa.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been financing the Action for West Africa Region HIV-AIDS program (AWARE), which has been instrumental in creating and enforcing more aggressive HIV/AIDS policies across Africa. This has translated into developing a “model” HIV-specific criminal law. USAID has been funding these efforts since 2004. Prior to this effort, there were no HIV criminalization laws in any country in Africa. Now, there are at least 27 African countries with active laws.

This cause has been reporting on the ADAP Crisis for months now and most of the news we have shared has been bleak. Today we have some encouraging news.

AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) provide vital assistance to HIV-positive individuals who cannot afford the the incredibly expensive medications needed to treat and manage this devastating disease. Without these essential medications, a person’s HIV disease is more likely to progress to AIDS. HIV/AIDS can be life-threatening without these medications.

As of April 21, the waiting list for ADAP is at 7,674 people in 11 states. (The number was 5,100 in 10 states when we first began reporting about the ADAP Crisis in January.) These individuals are being denied coverage for their life-saving medications due to budget cuts on the federal and state levels. They are now at an even greater risk of seeing a drastic decline in their health while they wait for their medications.

Florida has been at the center of the ADAP Crisis since the beginning. Now it seems that the crisis could get even worse.

The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), is a vital program that assists HIV-positive individuals with paying for the incredibly expensive medications needed to treat and manage this devastating disease. Without these essential medications, a person’s HIV disease is more likely to progress to AIDS. HIV/AIDS can become life-threatening.

For a variety of reasons, ADAP funding is being slashed in many states across the country. Thousands of HIV-positive people have been terminated from the program and thousands more are being placed on waiting lists. This means that a person living with HIV/AIDS may need to wait to receive the medications they need to save their life.

The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Crisis continues. In fact, it is getting worse.

As of March 31, the waiting list for ADAP has increased to 7,745 people in 11 states. (The number was 5,100 in 10 states when we first began reporting about the ADAP Crisis in January.) That means right at this moment, there are close to 8,000 HIV-positive individuals waiting for financial assistance to pay for their HIV medications. They are being denied coverage for their life-saving medications due to budget cuts on the federal and state levels. They are now at an even greater risk of seeing a drastic decline in their health while they wait for their medications.

That's part one of the bad news. Part two is more disheartening. It seems that one pharmaceutical company (Pharma) has responded to the crisis ... by raising the prices of their HIV/AIDS medications. Seems they have a different definition of crisis.

We recently reported that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been financing HIV criminalization laws within Africa. The program, entitled Action for West Africa Region HIV-AIDS program (AWARE), has been instrumental in creating and enforcing more aggressive HIV/AIDS policies across Africa. This has translated into developing a “model” HIV-specific criminal law.

HIV criminalization in Africa is rampant and supported by many African country officials. Ugandan parliamentarians submitted a bill last year that would make HIV criminalization a law.

HIV Criminalization does not work as a means of HIV prevention. The argument for criminalization goes something like this: "If a person knows they will be punished for infecting someone with HIV, they will think twice before engaging in certain behaviors."

In reality, it is not this simple.

Our nation is potentially one step closer to seeing an end to Abstinence-Only Education.

Earlier this month, legislation was re-introduced in Congress seeking an end to this limited form of sexuality education. The bill is entitled the "Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act." That about sums it up.

The annual funds already earmarked for Abstinence-Only Education Programs would be redirected to "evidence-based, comprehensive sex education programs." The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) and in the House by Barbara Lee (D-California).

The bill will face a tough fight. Many conservative lawmakers have been on a war-path to stop funding many family planning programs. This means funding cuts to all community based clinics that provide health care services to low income women and families. HIV testing, cancer screenings, family planning counseling, condom and other birth control distribution... it's all in jeopardy.

As the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) continues to struggle for funding, pharma remains silent.

ADAP is an invaluable state program that assists HIV-positive individuals in paying for their very expensive medications. HIV medications are necessary to treat and manage HIV/AIDS and to prevent disease progression. These medications are necessary to keep a person living with HIV/AIDS alive. Indeed, they are the very reason HIV is now a chronic disease, and not acutely life-threatening.

For a variety of reasons, ADAP funding is being cut in states across the country, leaving many HIV+ adults unable to afford their medications.

The pharmaceutical companies (pharma) that develop and distribute these medications continue to contribute to the problem. The cost of HIV medications remains astronomically high within our country. These high costs are a primary reason that ADAP programs were created. Many people who are HIV-positive and living in poverty cannot conceive of paying for their meds on their own. To be sure, many more HIV-positive individuals with private insurance are also in need of ADAP due to the high costs and/or inadequate coverage.

Finally, some recognition from a top health official of the ADAP Crisis in America!

Former Surgeon General of the U.S., Dr. David Satcher, recently wrote an opinion piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution declaring that US government officials "must act to preserve drugs for HIV/AIDS."

AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) provide critical and life-saving medications to low-income people living with HIV who are unable to afford them. As HIV meds continue to be incredibly expensive, more and more people are seeking financial assistance. Unfortunately, states across the country continue to cut funding to this valuable program. The result is more HIV+ individuals unable to afford their medications, and therefore more HIV+ individuals at risk of death.

There are thousands of HIV-positive individuals being denied life-saving medications due to budget restrictions right here in the United States. This is the ADAP crisis, and it's not getting the attention it deserves.

ADAP, or AIDS Drug Assistance Program, is a vital state program that assists HIV-positive individuals with paying for the incredibly expensive medications needed to treat and manage this devastating disease. Without these essential medications, a person’s HIV disease is more likely to progress and become life-threatening.

Yet despite these critical facts, ADAP funding is being slashed in most states across the country. Thousands of HIV-positive people have been terminated from their state programs outright and thousands more are being placed on growing waiting lists. Other states have re-figured their ADAP requirements, thereby cutting many patients from their programs and putting countless others in jeopardy of losing coverage.

Most people can attest that getting a foodborne illness is no fun. It can mean a few days laid out on the couch, cursing the alleged batch of eggs or bag of spinach. But increasingly, these infections can be much more serious, resistant to the arsenal of antibiotics at a doctor's disposal.

With the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, hard-to-treat foodborne infections are becoming more and more common. According to a report (pdf) released today by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, foodborne illnesses due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the so-called "superbugs", have been occurring since the 1970s, but there has been a steady increase in these outbreaks every decade since then. Forty percent of these type of outbreaks have occurred in the last decade.

The reason? Widespread use of antibiotics on factory farms leads to the creation of the superbugs. Last month, the FDA released a report showing that over 70 percent of all U.S. antibiotics are being used in food-producing animals. The drugs are usually given at sub-therapeutic doses, meaning they aren't used to treat sick animals, but rather, to increase growth.