March 19, 2010

South Carolina HIV/AIDS Activists Rally to Save Funding

HIV/AIDS activists rallied at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, earlier this week, urging lawmakers to continue funding the state’s AIDS drug assistance program (ADAP), according to local CBS affiliate WSPA. The state’s budget proposal would cut $3.7 million from South Carolina’s ADAP, which helps 3,000 low-income residents living with HIV afford treatment.

According to the article, previous budget cuts forced South Carolina’s ADAP to create a waiting list for those newly diagnosed. The state is among the nation’s top 10 for newly reported HIV cases but last for funding prevention programs.

“Our goal is to ensure that HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and the conversation around care in South Carolina is kept in the forefront,” said Bambi Gaddist, PhD, chair of the state’s HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force. “We are finding more and more infection…. That means the pool of people needing ADAP [assistance] is increasing.”

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Previous Comments:

PozInMaine, Maine, 2010-03-24 06:34:48
I'm with Thomas from Oakland. Prevention money is a waste. Here in Maine it is spent on touchy feely weekly groups for gay men who should be saturated with the message of prevention, but apparently need group dynamics to keep themselves safe. In the meantime, ADAPs lose funds. Go figure.

Thomas, Oakland, 2010-03-23 18:44:11
Kiara, prevention is all over the internet, in health departments and with the people like me who are fighting it. All people have to do is seek out the information. Treatment is saving lives. I was well informed about the ways of contracting it and I CHOSE not to listen, so what is prevention doing?

Kiara, Illinois, 2010-03-22 20:42:58
So while funding for treatment is on the rise, prevention dollars are slowing fading away. One can't forget the importance of prevention in beating this disease. Without continued prevention efforts, the fight is only going to get tougher.