Domestic AIDS Campaign

Fighting AIDS Domestically

AIDS in the US
The fight against AIDS and injustice at home is far from finished. Only a couple months ago in August
2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released alarming data showing that the
rates of infection in the United States are 40% higher than had been estimated for the past decade. The
new estimates show that there are 56,000 new HIV infections each year in the US, not the 40,000 that
had been estimated for the past 10 years. Recognizing that we cannot and must not forget the millions of
individuals who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the US, SGAC is working to acknowledge
the domestic issues of the epidemic in this year’s campaign.

The Crisis We Face

An estimated 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, one quarter of whom remain unaware of
their status. HIV is a completely preventable virus. The nation’s failure to address the epidemic
demonstrates a lack of focus, coordination, and political will, and it is time that we stand up for justice
and demand that our nation address the urgency of the AIDS epidemic at home. We must address the
problem at home with the same seriousness as we address the effort abroad.

Solution
The next President of the United States must address this epidemic and make fighting AIDS a priority
both at home and abroad. This year, SGAC will demand concrete action from our local and national
governments and representatives.

National AIDS Strategy

While our national government requires countries that receive aid from the U.S. have a national
AIDS plan in place, America itself has no strategic plan to combat its own epidemic. We can and must
do a better job of confronting this epidemic that is affecting our nation. As a global leader in the fight
against HIV/AIDS, America must invest in developing an evidence-based coordinated plan of action.

Several hundred individuals and organizations across the nation are joining together in the Call
for a National AIDS Strategy (NAS). Accordingly, SGAC will join these organizations to demand that
the next president of the United States and his administration develop a comprehensive NAS.

In the development of a NAS, Federal officials must strategize with local and staff officials,
people living with HIV/AIDS, academics, community organizations, and even business leaders to
develop, finalize, announce, fully fund, and begin implementation of a coordinated, results-oriented
national plan against HIV/AIDS. NAS leaders must set high goals and attainable targets, and our NAS
must be oriented toward results that can be clearly measured. Such a strategy must implement specific
strategies and mechanisms to maintain federal government accountability. Furthermore, our national
response to the epidemic must confront the different ways in which the epidemic affects populations of
various racial/ethnic, class, gender, sexual orientation backgrounds.

Please join us in our efforts to demand that our future President works to create a NAS.

How can you help? It being a critical election year, we must take advantage of our access to
Presidential candidates and their administrative leaders.

First Hundred Days Action

November 20, 2008: Join us in DC or host an action on your campus!

Student Global AIDS Campaign will join the 1st Hundred Days Coalition on Thursday,
November 20, 2008 at noon in Washington D.C. at a rally to demand that the next President and his
administration work to create a National AIDS Strategy that is inclusive of several specific demands.

If you, your chapter, or a group of students are interested in joining us in DC, please contact
sheena.sood@fightglobalaids.org. Also, details about the rally will follow.

If you are unable to join us in Washington, D.C. for a demonstration but would like to organize
an action on your campus, consider the following options…

• Decentralized Call-In Day

• In District Lobby Day
• Gathering your chapter members together for a demonstration on campus (Use props, Do your
action in the student center or any other visible area on campus, and get other folks involved!)

In addition to demanding that our new president show leadership on AIDS by working to create a
National AIDS Strategy, SGAC will work to influence our next President and Congressional leaders to
implement the following:

Needle/Syringe Exchange Programs

The U.S. Congress MUST terminate the ban on funding Needle/Syringe Exchange Programs

The (Not-So) Secret Truth About Needle Exchange Programs.

There is an evidence-based way to avoid infections such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS in intravenous
drug users (IDUs). Our government officials are aware that Needle Exchange Programs (NEP) are a
cheap, effective way to reduce blood-borne infections in IDUs! Programs can be set up for little to
nothing; most syringes cost less than $1 USD.

It is currently illegal to use government funds to supply intravenous drug users with clean needles.

Even though the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a report over TEN years ago stating that
NEPs “can be an effective component of a comprehensive strategy to prevent HIV and other blood-
borne infectious diseases in communities that choose to include them,” and even though the CDC
recently reported that “IDUs who continue to inject use a new sterile syringe for every drug injection
can substantially reduce their risks of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne viral infections,” the US
government has chosen to ignore this opportunity.

Additionally, there is a way to both avoid infections in IDUs AND reduce drug use in IDUs.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has published as far back as 1994 findings that needle exchange
programs both reduced infections and the number of daily injections per individual IDU.

Because we care about humanity and because we are committed to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
Student Global AIDS Campaign advocates the abolition of the ban on federal funding for Needle
Exchange Programs.

Cut the Waiting Lists! Fund the Fight!

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act provides funding from the Federal
Government to states and other localities in order to provide prevention resources and treatment to low-
income people living with HIV/AIDS. Via Ryan White funding, AIDS Drug Assistance Programs
(ADAP) exist in all 50 states and 8 other jurisdictions (e.g., D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, etc.). Each ADAP
program also receives funding from state and local resources. Accordingly, “each state operates its own
ADAP, including determining eligibility criteria and other program elements, resulting in significant
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variation of ADAPs across the country.”

Despite a Federal allocation of resources (through the Ryan White Act), a few states have not contributed
enough and now have under-funded ADAP programs. Consequently, as of July 3, 2008, several states
have enacted precarious cost-cutting schemes, and two states (Indiana and Montana) currently have
waiting lists. States with these waiting lists, are, in effect, denying life-saving medicine to people who
need treatment and qualify for this assistance.

To view a list of states with waiting lists and other harmful restrictions, please visit the following
website: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=552&cat=11

Testing: Rapid HIV Testing Now!

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) made a groundbreaking recommendation:
everyone in the United States between the ages of 13 and 64 should be tested for HIV. Alarmingly, it is
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now estimated that several hundred thousand Americans are HIV positive are unaware of their status.

1 AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) - Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Fact Sheet
(http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/1584_09.pdf)
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults,
Adolescents, and Pregnant Women in Health-Care Settings” (Washington, D.C.: 2006).
As countless HIV positive North Carolinians and residents of other states in America go about life
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undiagnosed, the virus is often left untreated for years. Without antiretroviral treatment and without
knowledge of their infection, undiagnosed individuals are 3.5 times more likely to transmit the virus
4
than those who have been diagnosed. Quite clearly, early detection is absolutely essential.

Given these figures, it is imperative that we have the policies and resources necessary to broadly
encourage people to be tested for HIV. Unfortunately, many state and local health departments do not
effectively prioritize proactive diagnostic strategies. Many state and county-funded testing clinics still
rely on antiquated testing methods not only force clients to have blood drawn, but also require them to
return to the testing site two to three weeks afterwards for their HIV status results. Not surprisingly,
many are turned off by this cumbersome process. Furthermore, according to CDC data, about 31 percent
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of individuals fail to return to receive their results.

Concisely, the Student Global AIDS Campaign seeks to dramatically expand the availability of
rapid HIV testing across the nation. Already the norm at testing clinics in many metropolitan areas, rapid
testing reduces the diagnostic wait time to a mere fifteen minutes, and typically does not require a blood
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sample. While both testing methodologies are highly accurate, the rapid test is much more convenient.
In fact, after New York State began offering rapid testing at clinics across the state, there has been a
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nearly 40% increase in both the number of tests and positive diagnoses.

For more information, or to take action on this issue, please email

sheena.sood@fightglobalaids.org or david.norton@fightglobalaids.org.

Support Evidenced-Based HIV Prevention

It is really just about prevention justice. One of the most important ways that we can work
towards preventing HIV from spreading so rapidly in America is to implement Comprehensive sex
Education programs in our school systems.

Let’s Talk About Sex. Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs censor information about

contraception. Furthermore, abstinence-only programs are ineffective and unrealistic.

Policymakers and elected officials know that sexual activity is happening amongst the youth.

3 P. Wortley, et al. “HIV Testing Patterns: where, why, and when were Persons with AIDS Tested for HIV?” JAIDS, Vol.
9, No. 5 (1995): 487-492.
4 G. Marks, et al. “Meta-Analysis of High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Persons Aware and Unaware they are Infected with
HIV in the United States: Implications for HIV Prevention Programs.” JAIDS, Vol. 39, No. 4 (2005): 446-453.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Advancing HIV Prevention: New Strategies for a Changing
Epidemic” (Washington, D.C.: 2003).
6 C. Pilcher, et al. “Detection of Acute Infections During HIV Testing in North Carolina.” NEJM, Vol. 352, No. 18 (2005):
1873-1883.
7 M. Antonio-Gaddy, et al. “Rapid HIV Antibody Testing in the New York State Anonymous HIV Counseling and
Testing Program.” JAIDS, Vol. 43 (2006): 446-450.
Youth will continue to have sex, and it is likely that they will engage in unprotected sex if they do not
receive comprehensive sex education. In the past decade, the unwanted teenage pregnancy and STDs
rates have skyrocketed. Why then does the government think that dumping more taxpayer monies into
programs that DO NOT WORK will solve the problem?

As part of an effort to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Student Global AIDS Campaign is
advocating the adoption and implementation of COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION be taught in
public schools. Our youth deserves and needs accurate information, not censorship.

That's the comprehensive approach - an approach supported by the American Medical

Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Nurses Association
(ANA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and more than 100 other medical and professional
organizations.

Comprehensive sex education addresses both abstinence and age-appropriate, medically accurate
information about contraception. Comprehensive sex education is also developmentally appropriate,
introducing information on relationships, decision-making, assertiveness, and skill building to resist
social/peer pressure, depending on grade-level. Lack of information can lead to the contraction of
HIV/AIDS. Censorship leads to unnecessary death.

Abstinence may be 100% effective in avoiding HIV/AIDS, but individuals and our youth do not
deserve a death sentence for engaging in sexual activity.

Possible Action

How can you get involved and help support this effort? You can support the REAL (The
Responsible Education about Life) Act, legislation that allows state governments to receive and utilize
federal funding for comprehensive sex-ed in schools.

The REAL Act, “sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representatives Barbara
Lee (D-CA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT), would provide federal money to support responsible sex
education in schools. This education would include science-based, medically accurate, and age
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appropriate public health information about both abstinence and contraception. ” Abstinence only
funding wastes taxpayers’ money as it is proven ineffective at preventing HIV from spreading and from
preventing pregnancies. We cannot afford to gamble with the lives of young women and men.

Adequate and Affordable Housing for PLWHA

Our next president must also show leadership by ensuring housing is available to all people with HIV.
Research has proven that it is critical for all people to have stable housing. This is especially true for
people with HIV/AIDS because individuals who live in stable housing situations are more adherent to
medication. They are also more likely to eat well, sleep enough and to spend more time taking care of

8 Advocates for Youth. “The Facts. The Responsible Education about Life Act.”
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/real.htm
their health.

Unfortunately, over the past years, the US has shortchanged AIDS housing programs. We have denied
people who have HIV but not a clinical diagnosis of AIDS their right to access AIDS housing. That is
unjust. Our next administration must make housing a priority.

Target

President-Elect of the United States of America and his Administration

Why

Although targeting the President may seem like a catch-all for all political campaigns, the two
presidential candidates have the ability to make fighting HIV/AIDS a priority of their administration, and
both of the candidates are especially accessible before the elections. These candidates have the power to
give us what we want, and we want to make our ask clear. In the short-term, the next President will have
the ability to prioritize HIV/AIDS from the start of his term in office. The President-Elect will also make
6,000 appointments before he takes office, so we can greatly influence his decisions. After taking office,
the President will be able to act as a catalyst for new HIV/AIDS legislation in Congress.

Within the first 100 days of the next president’s term, whoever that person may be, advocates across the
US will be looking for our new president to show leadership on AIDS.

Contact

Obama for America P.O. Box 8102 Chicago, IL 60680

Phone: (866) 675-2008

John McCain 2008 P.O. Box 16118 Arlington, VA 22215

Phone: (703) 418-2008

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Phone: (202) 456-1111
comments@whitehouse.gov

Glossary:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): a research and public health agency of the
United States Department of Health and Human services that works to protect the people’s public
health and safety both at home and abroad by providing information to enhance health decisions,
and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other
organizations. The CDC is based in Atlanta, GA.
Intravenous drug use (IDU): This term refers to the use of recreational drugs via injection into an
individual’s veins.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act: The largest federally funded program for
people living with HIV/AIDS. The Act was first passed in the early 1990s. In 2006, the act was
reauthorized for three more years, ending on September 30, 2009 with a funding level of $2.1 billion