Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day

Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day

"I am honored to have been asked to be a spokesperson for the fourth annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day. This year, February 7th has been set aside for strengthening our commitment to educating the public, especially people of color, about the danger of HIV/AIDS and how to avoid becoming a victim in this devastating global epidemic.

"In spite of the fact there is a wealth of information about the disease, too many people remain ignorant of relatively simple steps that can be taken to remain free from the virus that causes AIDS. Too many people, many of them young people, are still practicing unsafe sex and too many people are dying because of it.

"Unfortunately, there is very little progress to report in the battle to bring the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control. While the rate of HIV infections has gone down somewhat in a few of the hardest hit areas on the African continent, the virus spread rapidly in Eastern Europe, India and China.

"According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people died from AIDS in the past year, adding to a death toll that already stood at more than 20 million people. At least 5 million were infected with the AIDS virus in 2003 to join the 40 million people who were already living with AIDS worldwide. It is estimated that the number of people living with AIDS will escalate to 100 million by the year 2010.

"In the United States, the impact of the epidemic has been most severe among minorities. African Americans account for 49 percent of new AIDS cases being reported in the United States, although African Americans represent only 12 percent of the population. African American children account for 65 percent of the pediatric AIDS cases in the U.S.

"Black women and black teenagers have been particularly hard-hit by the AIDS epidemic. Sixty-four percent of the new AIDS cases reported in the U.S. among women affect African Americans, and black teenagers represent 64 percent of the new AIDS cases reported in the nation's 13-19 age group.

"In 2002, HIV/AIDS was among the top three leading causes of death for black women and men ages 25-44.
"In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush made an encouraging promise to take action on the global AIDS crisis. The President pledged to provide $15 billion for global AIDS programs. The President's pledge resulted in the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act, which was passed in Congress and signed by the President last year. The Act authorized $3 billion each year in funding over the next five years for global AIDS, TB and malaria treatment and prevention programs.

"During his nearly three years in office, this president has proven to be a master of deception. He has misled us into a war using speculation and lies to justify it. He has misled us into tax cuts for the richest Americans, claiming it would benefit middle-class families. He has misled us into a Medicare reform plan, claiming it will help the poor and the elderly when the bill is in fact a cruel hoax that will only benefit big pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

"Now it appears that the President's pledge to provide funds to fight against the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States and the rest of the world is yet another example of the President's penchant for saying one thing and doing another.

"The Director of National AIDS Policy for the Bush Administration has written to Congress at least three times in recent months to try and stop Congress from providing full funding to global AIDS programs. The President proposed only $2 billion for global HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programs in his budget for fiscal year 2004, even though $3 billion is authorized by law. Anything less than $3 billion in 2004 will constitute a failure to make good on the President's 2003 State of the Union promise. Funding for domestic AIDS programs also remains woefully inadequate.

"In 1998, when I was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I worked with the Clinton Administration to develop the Minority AIDS Initiative. The initiative provides grants to community-based organizations and other health care providers for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs serving the African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Native American communities. The initiative also enables health care providers to expand and strengthen their capacity to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care and services.

"In fiscal year 2003, the Minority AIDS Initiative received $406 million in funding, but the need is much greater, given the fact that racial minorities now represent a majority of new AIDS cases in the U.S. and a majority of Americans living with AIDS.

"Last May, I sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Congressional Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations, urging the Administration to provide $610 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative in fiscal year 2004. The letter was signed by 109 of my colleagues in the House of Representatives. Despite our efforts, the 2004 appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives in December includes only $403.95 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative, about $2 million less than the amount requested in 2003.

"President Bush calls himself a compassionate conservative, but his compassion seems limited to corporate fat cats, while his efforts to conserve come at the expense of middle-class workers, the poor, the sick and the elderly. The shortfall in funding for global AIDS programs and the Minority AIDS Initiative is just the latest illustration of the enormous gap between the President's words and his deeds. However, inadequate funding for HIV/AIDS is nothing new.

"We have always faced an uphill struggle in the battle against AIDS and still there has been progress in treating the disease. Newly developed drugs are making it possible for many AIDS patients to live longer, more active lives and delaying the onset of AIDS in many HIV-infected people. Prevention, however, is the key to controlling and ultimately conquering the disease.
"HIV/AIDS is preventable and knowledge is the key to prevention. We must all redouble our effors to spread the word to our friends, family and especially our young people. We must make every day National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day.

"In recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day, the Department of Health and Human Services has launched a comprehensive Internet site, www.omhrc.gov/blackaidsday, which offers specific information for African Americans to assist individuals, organizations and communities with outreach efforts and public awareness campaigns.