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Update AIDS Act, Minority Group Says

Posted on: Monday, 5 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

Congress should pass a bill to direct federal AIDS funding to where it's most needed, minority health advocates said Monday.

The National Minority Health Month Foundation marked the 25th anniversary of the first documented AIDS cases by calling upon Congress to immediately modernize and pass the Ryan White CARE Act. The CARE Act, which expired last September, supports access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care.

The original version of the bill distributed funds based on a formula that gave more weight to AIDS cases in urban areas -- where the epidemic was most acute. Now, advocates of updating the bill say, AIDS cases are more dispersed and the funding should be as well.

On June 5, 1981, the first cases of AIDS were documented and in the last 25 years, the face of this epidemic has changed dramatically, said Gary Puckrein, executive director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported

that almost 75 percent of the new reported HIV cases in the United States are

among minorities. Additionally, AIDS has moved from large cities to rural

communities, particularly in the South. According to the CDC, in 2004, 55 percent of new African American AIDS cases occurred in the South.

"Sadly, the money is not following the disease and a domestic AIDS

policy overhaul is long overdue," Puckrein said.

Source: United Press International

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