ADAP lists practically eliminated, report says
Obama and Clinton pledge allegiance to the fight against HIV/AIDS
Prisons largely responsible for the spread of HIV in North Carolina, say black religious leaders and public health officials
TPAN, AFC launch new website to assist the newly-diagnosed
New program offers electronic medication reminders
ADAP lists practically eliminated, report says
A recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) revealed that the number of people on AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) waiting lists has decreased from 571 in March 2007 to three in March of 2008.
While four states had waiting lists in March 2007, Montana is currently the sole state with a waiting list for ADAP (adding two more people on the day before the report was released, bringing the total number to five).
ADAPs are funded by both the federal and state governments to provide HIV/AIDS-related medications to low-income, uninsured and underinsured HIV-positive people. According to the survey, about two-thirds of those currently enrolled in ADAP are black and Hispanic, and more than four in 10 have incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.
Kaiser and NASTAD credit the near elimination of ADAP waiting lists to several factors, including increased funding from states, drug rebate programs, and recent changes to the Ryan White CARE Act. However, with more people than ever before currently enrolled in ADAP programs nationwide (approximately 146,000), and changes in the DHHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration’s supplemental awards and Ryan White, combined with the uncertain fiscal futures for states, the recent progress could be in jeopardy.
“Given some of the things we’re hearing, it’s possible that some of the waiting lists could come back,” said Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of HIV policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Read the entire report here
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Obama and Clinton pledge allegiance to the fight against HIV/AIDS
At a forum sponsored by Faith in Public Life, held at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama called for allocating more resources to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“I believe that our government must do so much more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people suffering,” Clinton said in response to a question regarding potential policies on providing access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries.
While giving the pharmaceutical companies their kudos for doing the initial work to develop the drugs that generics are then able to copy, she also acknowledged that they could do more to “get the drug costs down and to open the pathway for generic drugs.”
When asked if faith and abstinence education should have a role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Obama began by saying that “part of the battle against AIDS should be abstinence.” He went on to say that he feels that contraception and treatment are also important, and to reiterate that “we have to do more to make antiviral drugs available to people who are in extreme poverty.”
Obama also spoke of his recent efforts to encourage HIV testing in Kenya (the birthplace of his father) and of the importance of focusing prevention efforts on women as well as men. Both senators praised President Bush for his efforts through PEPFAR, while at the same time acknowledging its limitations.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain reportedly could not attend due to a scheduling conflict. The forum was televised nationwide by CNN. Excerpts and expanded coverage are available online at www.CNN.com.
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Prisons largely responsible for the spread of HIV in North Carolina, say black religious leaders and public health officials
Concerned about the rising rates of HIV/AIDS among blacks in North Carolina, particularly among women, some black religious leaders and public health officials in the state are calling for prison officials to require routine HIV testing of inmates and treatment of those who test positive.
The Raleigh News & Observer reports that while blacks account for only 21% of the state’s population, black women represented more than 80% of new HIV cases among women in 2006. A recent study also found that most HIV-positive women reported that their last three sexual partners had been in prison the previous year.
“This is destroying our community,” said Larry Williams, a pastor who is heading up the lobbying effort. “Our women are sharing men who’ve gotten HIV. It’s swirling around us. We cannot pretend it’s not happening and can’t ignore a chance to try and fix it.”
There are currently twenty-two states that require HIV tests for inmates. North Carolina does not mandate HIV testing, rather, prisons recommend it for new prisoners who admit to high risk behaviors.
A study conducted by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill medical and doctoral student David Rosen, however, found that there is little demand for the test under the current policy. Only 25 % of the men in Rosen’s study, who had not been previously diagnosed with HIV, requested testing upon arrival at one of the state’s six prisons. blacks were less likely than other inmates to request the test, and fewer than 5% of inmates at the two prisons housing young men between 18 and 25 requested to be tested.
It is currently estimated that 1.8% of North Carolina’s prison populations, roughly 700 inmates, has HIV or AIDS. State prison officials have said that they would not be opposed to a testing mandate, but that the cost of executing such a process would exceed available funding. Based on an estimated 10% infection rate (a rate much higher than reported by any other state), officials estimate that it would cost $21 million dollars annually to screen and treat HIV-positive inmates.
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TPAN, AFC launch new website to assist the newly-diagnosed
Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN, parent agency to Positively Aware), in collaboration with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), recently launched a creative, interactive website designed to assist people who are newly-diagnosed with HIV to cope and come to terms with the fact that life with HIV is both possible and manageable.
The content for the site, known as PEERSpeak, was developed by people living with HIV/AIDS, and is therefore sensitive to how overwhelming a diagnosis with HIV can be. Using five fictional characters to illustrate the variety of challenges one might face upon learning their HIV status, the site offers strategies for coping with both the medical and social obstacles associated with the virus.
Check it out for yourself here
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New program offers electronic medication reminders
Tibotec Therapeutics, the company that markets the anti-HIV drugs Prezista and Intelence, recently launched its new “Medication Reminders Program” which allows users to receive regular reminders to take their HIV medications.
The program is free of charge and is accessible via the company’s website.
Users can opt to receive either a regular text message, voice mail or e-mail, in English or Spanish, that will remind them to take their medication when it is most convenient. Mindful of privacy and confidentiality, the message does not mention the words HIV or medication.
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