In a Washington Times opinion piece (washingtontimes.com, 5/27), Republican U.S. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina calls on Congress to lessen federal funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which provides funding for HIV prevention and treatment programs in developing countries.
DeMint says that the bill to increase PEPFAR funding to $50 billion over the next five years wastes resources, adding that the amount is “more than double the $22 billion we spend each year for our veterans. Meanwhile, back home the federal government cannot even pay doctors what they are owed under Medicare. When we think about PEPFAR we must think hard about our priorities.”
DeMint blasts PEPFAR for funding “programs that teach drug addicts how to inject safely, and prostitutes and homosexuals how to have safe sex,” which he calls “morally objectionable to many American taxpayers” and ineffective in preventing the spread of HIV, citing a recent Harvard School of Public Health study.
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Glenn, New York, 2008-05-29 14:00:38
Why not concentrate on providing clean water, food and shelter to people in developing countries. Is it really a viable solution for people in developing countries to take ARV with dirty water, poor choices in food (if any) and no decent place to sleep? The answer is not in ARVs - the answer lies in providing infrastructure and the basics to live... Food, shelter and employment.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
