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National Minority Health Month Foundation Welcomes the President's Commitment to Modernizing and Reauthorizing the Ryan White CARE Act

Posted on: Monday, 6 February 2006, 12:00 CST

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Gary A. Puckrein, PhD, executive director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation (NMHMF), today welcomed President George W. Bush's State of the Union remarks on the importance of modernizing and reauthorizing the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act to reflect the realities of HIV/AIDS in America today. NMHMF has launched a national campaign to encourage modernization and reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.

The president's address included the following appeal: "I ask Congress to reform and reauthorize the Ryan White Act, and provide new funding to states, so we end the waiting lists for AIDS medicines in America." He committed his administration to leading "a nationwide effort, working closely with African American churches and faith-based groups, to deliver rapid HIV tests to millions, end the stigma of AIDS, and come closer to the day when there are no new infections in America."

Recent patterns in the United States show that HIV/AIDS increasingly affects African Americans, Hispanics, and other racial and ethnic minorities. In 2004, minorities accounted for almost three-fourths of new cases of AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report. Of newly identified AIDS patients, 49 percent were African Americans and 20 percent were Latinos. The rate also continued to rise among women, who accounted for 27 percent of new AIDS cases in 2004; 64 percent of these women were African Americans, and 18 percent were Latinas.

Dr. Puckrein said, "Given the president's commitment to modernizing and reauthorizing the Ryan White CARE Act, we now look to Congress to do its part in making treatment accessible to thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS."

The Ryan White CARE program has focused on large, densely populated centers, such as New York City, leaving some treatment needs unmet in states where incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS are increasing among minority and non-minority populations. "If you are HIV positive and you live in North Carolina and you aren't sick enough to qualify for Medicaid, Ryan White-funded treatment is currently out of reach," observed Dr. Puckrein.

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About the National Minority Health Month Foundation

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1998, the National Minority Health Month Foundation was established to strengthen national and local efforts to eliminate the disproportionate burden of premature death and preventable illness in racial and ethnic minorities and other special populations through the use of evidence- based, data-driven initiatives. The Foundation has developed a comprehensive relational data platform for identifying the prevalence of health-status and health-care disparities at the zip- code level. This centralized data warehouse allows the Foundation to house vital statistics; demographic, environmental, claims, prescription-drug, and clinical-laboratory values; health-care access points, and other data. The Foundation is thus able to measure and forecast health status in small geographic areas, evaluate the impact of specific interventions, monitor changes in health outcomes, and serve as a valuable resource for the health- disparities movement.

For additional information and interview requests, please contact Cleve Mesidor at 202-223-7560.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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