June 16 , 2003

Let’s Get Real About HIV Prevention for Sexually Active Adults

(Washington, DC) On Friday, June 13, the Stop AIDS Project, a San Francisco-based organization working to prevent HIV/AIDS in gay and bisexual men, came under serious scrutiny by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a letter last Friday, the agency cautioned Stop AIDS that certain of its prevention programs, which are subject to community review and approval, “appear to encourage or promote sexual activity”and consequently “appear to violate” CDC funding guidelines.

“If the U.S. government hopes to achieve its goal of reducing HIV rates by 50 percent, it will have to do what other G-8 countries have done: get real about HIV transmission for sexually active adults,” AIDS Action’s Executive Director Dr. Marsha Martin stated in a letter sent today to Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services. “And how," she asked, “do we expect to prevent HIV transmission among the sexually active if we don’t take advantage of programs like those offered by the Stop AIDS Project?”

In HIV prevention, one size does not fit all. If prevention programs are to work effectively, the appropriateness of their content must be determined by the community, as were those of the Stop AIDS Project. Although the content of these programs may be viewed as inappropriate by some, they have already been subject to the scrutiny of the party that should matter most: the community.

While the latest data from the CDC suggest that HIV transmission resulting from sexual activity (both heterosexual and homosexual) is rising, AIDS Action invites Secretary Thompson, CDC officials, and communities that have been devastated by sexually-transmitted HIV to have some direct conversations on preventing HIV transmission among adults who have and will continue to have sex. AIDS Action and its member organizations would be happy to convene such a group in the near future.

AIDS Action Foundation strives to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by working for public policies that promote prevention against new infections, provide care for people already living with HIV/AIDS, and support the search for a cure. AIDS Action is the national voice of all people living with HIV, representing community based organizations across the country.