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AIDS Policy No. 486

Adopted 2003
Amended 2005
Amended 2006
Reaffirmed 2007

In the United States an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 people are living with the HIV/AIDS virus, with 339,000 people living with full-blown AIDS. Of the HIV/AIDS positive, approximately 180,000-240,000 people do not know they are infected, and 300,000 of those who know they are HIV-positive fail to receive vital treatment. About 40,000 additional people are newly infected with HIV each year, while 4,000 Americans die every year from HIV/AIDS. Tragically, the cost of HIV/AIDS care still prevents many Americans from receiving adequate treatment.

Worldwide, ninety-five percent of the people living with HIV are in the developing world, and a third are ages of 15-24. In Africa, the disease has reached pandemic proportions with 10,000 people infected every day and almost 8,000 people dying daily. Over 60% of all HIV-infected people are living in sub-Saharan Africa. As many as one in three people are infected with the disease in Lesotho, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Many Africans have not been educated enough about the disease to understand how to avoid infection, and few have access to volunteer counseling and testing.

Furthermore, common African practices often help fuel the pandemic. Many African men are forced to search for work outside of their home areas, increasing their exposure to sex workers a high-risk group for spreading the HIV virus. Condom use by sex workers is uncommon, although many of them know how HIV is transmitted. This behavior arises because they make more money for sex without a condom or they fear that their clients will become abusive and force sex without protection.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that:

1. ADA calls for full funding of the Global AIDS Fund that aims to raise $10 billion per year from the rich governments of the world and private donors for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. The United States should contribute at least $3.5 billion per year to the GAF.
2. ADA welcomes President Bush's 2003 AIDS relief package that calls for $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS abroad, especially in Africa and the Caribbean, where the disease is taking a terrible toll. Funds pledged in this effort should not come from existing programs to fight AIDS and other diseases or other programs that assist developing countries. This legislation should merely be a small step toward a greater commitment by the US to fight this terrible disease abroad.
3. ADA challenges the United States government to provide greater relief for HIV/AIDS and to work more closely with international HIV/AIDS relief organizations.
4. ADA supports the development of under Medicaid for prescription drug benefit program in which the government negotiated fair prices that will allow for increased access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
5. ADA urges an increase in prevention programs -- in the US and abroad -- that provide condoms and clean syringes to people at-risk of HIV/AIDS infection.
6. ADA urges drug companies to make cheap generic HIV/AIDS treatment drugs available to people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad.

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No. 486