NEWSHIV/AIDS

Imagine that you have two options: 1. End your life early with your true love, or 2. Live longer without your better half.

After more than 19 years with his spouse, Bradford Wells is being forced to make such a decision. His husband, Australian citizen Anthony John Makk, has only three more days to legally live in the United States. If Bradford and Anthony were in a “traditional” marriage, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would bend over backward to keep the couple together. Unfortunately for them, and 26,000 other same-gender, bi-national couples in the US, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) bars federal recognition of same-gender marriages. USCIS must abide by a discriminatory law that the Obama administration refuses to defend.

Bradford and Anthony have been married for 7 years, one of the first gay couples to marry in the US after Massachusetts legalized marriage equality. In the eyes of the federal government, however, they are little more than glorified roommates.

Bradford is also suffering from AIDS complications. Anthony is his caregiver but Bradford cannot move to Australia because of his health. Without his US health insurance and the care of his husband, Bradford’s prognosis is grim. Not only is their relationship in jeopardy due to discrimination and bigotry, Bradford’s very health hangs in the balance.

The couple pays joint taxes like a heterosexual married couple but do not receive any of the benefits. “We have all the responsibilities, do the penalty parts of marriage, but then when it gets to the same benefits, we’re told no, you don’t qualify. The government has decided they don’t like who I marry. For the federal government to say this isn’t a marriage – it’s degrading,” says Bradford.

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.

I've written before about the high cost of stigmas surrounding HIV and AIDS. These stigmas create misinformation and fear, leading to laws criminalizing HIV and discrimination against people with HIV.

Yet, campaigns to prevent the spread of HIV sometimes latch onto fear tactics and talk about HIV in a way that is harmful and offensive. At the top of that list is the "It's Never Just HIV" campaign, launched by the New York City Department of Health.

The "It's Never Just HIV" campaign warns that if you get HIV, you're more likely to get osteoporosis, dementia, and anal cancer. In a press release about the campaign, the Department of Health said the campaign is "an effort to combat complacency about HIV" and to encourage men who have sex with men to use protection to avoid spreading HIV. But the campaign doesn't focus on encouraging condom use or telling people to get tested; instead, it uses graphic imagery to instill fear. It sends the message that life is hopeless for those who are HIV-positive, and that HIV-positive people can't lead happy lives even if they take medications.

Imagine an education program that has been denounced for spreading misinformation about HIV/AIDS, and one that has ties to leaders pushing the death penalty or life imprisonment for LGBT people in Uganda. That program would be condemned and not held up as a shining example of how to teach our kids about human sexuality, right?

Wrong. Look no further than Project SOS in Jacksonville, Florida, a controversial abstinence-only program that has been active throughout the Sunshine State. What's the reason that Project SOS is so controversial? Well, for starters, research by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) shows that when it comes to the subject of HIV/AIDS, Project SOS has been spreading false and misleading information to children. To make matters worse, a study by the American School Health Association found that the curriculum that Project SOS uses -- which is taught inside a number of private and public schools in the state of Florida -- is so shoddy, it's been labeled "unacceptable" by the group for use in classrooms.

As if that all weren't bad enough, the Florida Independent noted a few weeks ago that the founder of Project SOS, Pam Mullarkey (who is still a current board member of the group), has direct ties to Pastor Martin Ssempa, the infamous Ugandan religious leader who has lobbied hard for legislation that would sentence LGBT Ugandans to either life imprisonment, or allow for LGBT people to be executed by the state. Mullarkey's own words when talking about Pastor Ssempa were shocking; she called him a "change agent," whose "passion, charisma and character make his vital message irresistible."

Yet despite the controversial and heavy baggage surrounding Project SOS, the Sheriff of Jacksonville, Florida, John Rutherford, has given the organization a full-throated endorsement on behalf of the Sheriff's Office. Apparently in Jacksonville, the Sheriff's Office is just fine lending credence to groups that spread false information about HIV/AIDS, and have ties to some of the most vocal anti-gay activists in the world.

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.