Pubdate: Fri, 29 Aug 2008
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: A15
Copyright: 2008 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Jose E. Serrano
Note: The writer, a Democrat from New York, is chairman of the House 
Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (HIV/AIDS)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

FIGHTING HIV-AIDS ONE SYRINGE AT A TIME

HIV infections among Latinos and African Americans in the United 
States are increasing at a dangerous rate. Hispanics represented 
about 22 percent of new HIV and AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006 -- 
though they were only about 14 percent of the overall population. In 
addition, there are fewer HIV-positive people in seven of the 15 
target countries of the Global AIDS Initiative than there are 
HIV-positive African Americans here at home.

Locally, the situation is even more dire: A recent Kaiser Family 
Foundation survey found that Hispanics in the District have the 
highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country.

Despite these alarming statistics, our federal government -- which is 
working to reduce infection rates around the globe -- is ignoring a 
simple, effective step that could be helpful in the United States. 
Since 1988, Congress has banned federal funding of syringe exchange 
programs. We must lift this ban.

At the end of 2006, nearly one-third of all U.S. AIDS cases -- more 
than 300,000 -- were linked to intravenous drug use. These are not 
just numbers but thousands of Americans -- friends, relatives and 
colleagues -- struggling with what can be debilitating challenges. 
Drug addiction can ruin lives, but even its enormous power pales in 
comparison to the havoc wreaked by HIV. While we strive to help 
people overcome drug addiction, we must also help them avoid HIV-AIDS 
and other infectious diseases.

Last year, in an annual spending bill that I wrote, I was able to 
lift a congressionally mandated ban on the District of Columbia using 
its own funds for syringe exchange programs. I believe that this was 
both a home-rule issue and a positive public health initiative. 
During debate on this measure, critics trotted out the tired claim 
that syringe exchange programs encourage drug use.

The facts do not support this claim. Consider what Elias A. Zerhouni, 
the respected director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote to 
Congress in 2004: "A number of studies conducted in the United States 
have shown that syringe exchange programs do not increase drug use 
among participants or surrounding community members and are 
associated with reductions in the incidence of HIV, hepatitis B, and 
hepatitis C in the drug-using population." Despite overwhelming 
scientific evidence, legislators and others opposed to syringe 
exchange continue to ignore the proof that contradicts their claims.

It is time to move past stale arguments and change this federal 
policy. To that end, I recently introduced the Community AIDS and 
Hepatitis Prevention Act. This legislation would reduce the spread of 
HIV by removing all restrictions on the use of federal funds for 
syringe exchange programs. I am not suggesting that funding syringe 
exchange programs will end the nation's HIV-AIDS epidemic, but there 
is no doubt that it would be an integral part of a comprehensive response.

Syringe exchange programs help address issues beyond HIV-AIDS. For 
one thing, they provide opportunities to reduce drug use; studies 
show that syringe exchange programs work as a gateway to other forms 
of intervention, including counseling, treatment and general 
education on risky behavior.

Unlike the federal government, many local and state governments allow 
and often finance needle exchange programs. As our economy sags, 
however, they are struggling to maintain their support. Helping them 
would save taxpayers money in the long run. The average lifetime 
health-care costs for an HIV patient are estimated at $618,900. Clean 
syringes cost around eight cents each.

We must, of course, keep searching for a cure for AIDS. Researchers 
and scientists continue to develop the medicines and expertise 
necessary to improve quality of life for people with HIV and to keep 
AIDS-related fatalities at bay. But these small victories have not 
happened in a vacuum -- they have been extensively underwritten by 
the federal government.

After nearly three decades, HIV-AIDS remains a formidable enemy, but 
we no longer stand in fear. Our nation has developed many tools to 
fight it. We have taken difficult steps -- including confronting 
prejudice about AIDS and funding medical research. We have the power 
to reduce the number of drug users who become infected with HIV. We 
must not let ideology stand in our way. The federal government should 
fund a prevention program that works.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake