AIDS activists in Massachusetts are lobbying state officials for an additional $6 million to provide HIV/AIDS programs and services in the state, reports local newspaper the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (telegram.com, 2/9).
According to the article, AIDS Project Worcester, an AIDS service organization located in central Massachusetts, saw 64 new clients with HIV last year, compared with 52 in 2006. “We continue to see these increases, and this is a very expensive disease to treat,” Joseph D. McKee, executive director of the organization, told the newspaper.
McKee added that a major cause for the recent rise in HIV infection is the availability of new drugs and treatments that prolong lives, but also cause some people not to take the virus too seriously anymore.
In late January, state activists joined up under the umbrella group Project ABLE (AIDS Budget Legislative Effort) to lobby lawmakers to push for additional HIV/AIDS funds on the governor’s budget proposal.
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