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October 8, 2004
During the vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening, Moderator Gwen Ifill prefaced one of her questions to Vice President Cheney by stating, “I will talk to you about health care, Mr. Vice President.… But in particular, I want to talk to you about AIDS, and not about AIDS in China or Africa, but AIDS right here in this country, where black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 13 times more likely to die of the disease than their counterparts.” She then asked, “What should the government's role be in helping to end the growth of this epidemic?” The Vice President did not answer Ms. Ifill’s question. He made no mention of what the government’s role should be in the domestic HIV epidemic. Instead, he noted the Administration’s accomplishments in the global epidemic. Once Vice President Cheney had completed his remarks, Ms. Ifill gave you an opportunity to respond to the same question. Yet you also dedicated most of your allotted time to a discussion of HIV’s impact on other continents. When you finally turned your attention to HIV in the United States, your only comment was, “Here at home we need to do much more.” You then used the opportunity to transition into a broader discussion of the uninsured. You stated, “And the vice president spoke about doing research, making sure we have the drugs available, making sure that we do everything possible to have prevention. But it's a bigger question than that. You know, we have five million Americans who’ve lost their health care coverage in the last four years 45 million Americans [are] without health care coverage.” While we at AIDS Action share your concern for the rising number of uninsured Americans, we were disappointed that you so readily shifted the debate’s focus away from HIV. Ms. Ifill asked the most direct, important question about HIV in the debate cycle, and you provided an inadequate response. AIDS Action sent comments for the Democratic platform on the domestic HIV epidemic, however, it does not appear that you or the Kerry/Edwards campaign staff reviewed and retained the information we sent you. Moreover, you did not mention that the Kerry campaign has pledged to work with the scientific community to address HIV across the country. You did not mention that Vanessa Kerry recently assured attendees at a National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) conference that a Kerry Administration would double the funding for domestic HIV programs. We were very surprised and shocked that you did not address the inequities and urgent needs that exist in our epidemic. Ms. Ifill spotlighted a true and startling disparity when she said, “AIDS right here in this country, where black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 13 times more likely to die of the disease than their counterparts.” You should have addressed that point directly. You should have mentioned that you knew HIV is disproportionately affecting communities of color, and African American women in particular. HIV is a public health issue, not a “moral issue” as you stated in the debate. You missed an important opportunity to educate the nation about our own HIV epidemic. There are one-quarter of a million people living with HIV in the United States who are unaware of their HIV infection. You should have called for all listening to the debate to get tested and learn their status. Education is the key. When people understand their infection and are in regular HIV care, they are less likely to transmit this virus to others. This is a public health epidemic, and you could have explained that to the American people. You missed an important opportunity to tell Americans about the devastating impact HIV is having on your own state of North Carolina, as well as what a Kerry Administration would do in response to the domestic HIV epidemic. Though we have come a long way from the early days of the HIV epidemic when hundreds of people were dying daily, HIV in the United States continues to grow by at least 40,000 new infections per year and people are still dying. That is simply unacceptable. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prevention plan to reduce by half the number of annual new HIV infections to 20,000 cannot be accomplished without an increase in awareness and funding. Your answer Tuesday night lacked in both areas. Americans, who have led the world in responding to HIV and in developing life-saving solutions, are entitled to educated answers. AIDS Action stands ready to assist you in crafting a message and a response for the next time you are asked a question about the domestic HIV epidemic. You owe your educated answer to all those people living with and affected by HIV.
Marsha A. Martin Encl. comments for Democratic platform
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