This Week in Washington

1. Bush Delivers State of the Union, will release Budget Request on Monday 2/4

2. Economic Stimulus Package Moves Forward without FMAP Increase

3. Congressional Briefing on Violence against Women and Global HIV/AIDS

Announcements

1. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is February 7, 2008

2. HIVMA Accepting Applications for the Minority Clinical Fellowship

3. SAMHSA Accepting Applications for HIV/AIDS Grants

4. Registration Open for AIDSWatch 2008

This Week in Washington

1. Bush Delivers State of the Union, will release Budget Request on Monday 2/4

President Bush delivered his seventh State of The Union Address on Monday, January 28^th. In his speech, he made no reference to the domestic HIV epidemic. His comments on HIV/AIDS were brief and solely focused on the international epidemic and the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Here is an excerpt of his speech where he mentions global HIV/AIDS:

“America is leading the fight against disease. With your help, we are working to cut by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations. And our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success. And I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next 5 years.”

AIDS Action is dismayed at the President’s neglect of addressing the domestic epidemic during his final year in office. AIDS advocates are also bracing for significant decreases in domestic health spending in the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Budget Request. According to a document obtained by Congressional Quarterly on Thursday, January 31^st, The President is expected to propose a cut to government health programs by more than $2 billion. The document said that his budget request cuts the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) by $1 billion and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by $433 million. 

The release of the President’s budget request kicks off the budget process each year.  In the budget request, the president will be laying out his priorities for federal programs and federal fiscal policy. AIDS Action will provide further details and analysis of the President’s Budget Request in next week’s Weekly Update.

2. Economic Stimulus Package Moves Forward without FMAP Increase

Original plans for an economic stimulus package included a temporary increase in federal Medicaid matching rates for states, the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). Originally, the Medicaid provision was going to be modeled on language which would give states a 1.5% increase in the federal matching rate for six quarters. However, The Economic Stimulus Package, H.R. 5140, passed the House of Representatives on January 29^th was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on January 30^th without any FMAP increase.

Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) attempted to offer an amendment for a temporary FMAP increase during the committee mark up, but it was deemed non-germane. The bill is expected for a Senate Floor Vote next week, possibly on Wednesday.  Senator Rockefeller filed an amendment on FMAP for the stimulus bill which would provide for a 1.225 percent increase in FMAP for last three quarters of FY 2008 and the first two quarters of FY 2009 and $6 billion in temporary state fiscal relief. It is uncertain if the amendment can and will be offered during the floor debate.

On Friday, February 1^st, Senator Rockefeller introduced S. 2586, The State Fiscal Relief Act of 2008. The bill would provide states with fiscal relief through a temporary increase to FMAP. It would provide $12 billion in State aid, equally divided between an increase in FMAP and general revenue sharing grants to States.

3. Congressional Briefing on Violence against Women and Global HIV/AIDS

On January 24^th, the International Center for Research on Women, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and PATH, in conjunction with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus held a hearing entitled “Preventing Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS: Programs that Work.”  The panel was moderated by Kiersten Stewart, Director of Public Policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and panelists included Mary Ellsberg, PhD, Senior Advisor for Gender, Violence and Human Rights at PATH, Nata Duvvury, PhD, Director of Gender, Violence and Rights, at the International Center for Research on Women, and Pamela Sibanda Mumbi, Director of the International Justice Mission in Zambia. 

Kiersten Stewart began by thanking Representative Lantos and his staff for their support in the fight for human rights.  She then proceeded to give an overview of violence against women worldwide and its connection with HIV/AIDS.  One half of the 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide are women, and in many parts of the world, that percentage is much higher.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, 75% of people between the ages 15-24 who are infected with HIV are women.  Younger HIV positive women are more likely to have been abused than their counterparts.  In today’s world, one third of women have been abused, and the consequences are broad including emotional harm, physical damage, and an increased rate of STI’s, including HIV. 

Mary Ellsberg, PhD gave examples of programs that work to help women fight domestic violence.  “We need system wide change,” she said. “Women need meaningful access to justice and they need access to treatment.”  This change comes by training doctors to identify women living with violence and referring them to services, as is done by the Pan American Health Organization.  It also comes through community support, as in Papua, New Guinea, where local women have created a “safe house” for victims of domestic violence and have involved the community in supporting and protecting these women. 

Nata Duvvury, PhD emphasized the necessity of a more vigorous evaluation of the relationship between domestic violence and HIV/AIDS.  She discussed a program in South Africa that tracked 3,000 young people who had gone through the “Stepping Stones” program at 0, 12, and 24 months after the program.  The “Stepping Stones” program is an educational life skills and women’s empowerment program. The study tracked both biological markers (HIV and herpes) and behavioral changes.  What they found was a 50% decrease in herpes transmission, and significant behavior changes, including increased correct condom use, fewer sexual partners, and less domestic violence among participants. 

 Pamela Sibanda Mumbi explained the difficulty of helping women combat domestic violence, using Zambia as an example.  The laws against domestic violence are there, she says, but they’re not enforced.  Therefore, one of the major goals of the International Justice Mission is to educate the police officers and officials to better deal with issues of violence against women.  Like the other panelists, she emphasized the need for a community wide training on and prevention efforts around violence against women.

In conclusion, the panelists defined the areas with the greatest need for congressional action as: 1. Addressing violence against women as a primary prevention goal in HIV/AIDS work, 2. Integration and cooperation across programs and offices in communities, 3. Increased sharing of successful programs across borders, and 4. Increased use of young international courts of human rights, such as the Inter American Convention and the Inter American Commission on Human Rights. 

Announcements

1. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is February 7, 2007

Thursday, February 7, 2007 marks the eight annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This year’s theme is, “Prevention is Power.” The mission of National Black Awareness Day is to increase awareness, participation, and support for HIV prevention, care, and treatment among African Americans. The primary goal of the awareness day is to motivate African Americans to get tested, know their HIV status, get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/AIDS, get involved in their local community, and get treated if they are currently living with HIV.

To learn more about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, please visit: http://www.blackaidsday.org/

2. HIVMA Accepting Applications for the Minority Clinical Fellowship

The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) is now accepting applications for the Minority Clinical Fellowship, which is designed to encourage physicians from communities most-affected with HIV/AIDS to enter the field of HIV care. This fellowship targets African American and Latino physicians who are interested in gaining HIV clinical experience and expertise in an HIV clinical setting.

Candidates who have completed their residencies prior to the start of the fellowship, or are in the first five years of medical practice are eligible to apply.  The fellowships will provide each recipient with a stipend plus benefits for one year, as well as financial support for the mentor. Applicants will work with HIVMA mentors at institutions where they will continuously manage HIV-positive inpatients and outpatients. The deadline to apply for the 08-09 fellowship year is February 15, 2008. The training year will begin July 2008. Please pass this announcement on to those in your networks who may be interested.

Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.hivma.org  for more information, including application instructions. Please contact Jennifer Rainey at jrainey@idsociety.org or (703) 299-5168 with questions or to request brochures.

3. SAMHSA Accepting Applications for HIV/AIDS Grants

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for grants for their Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS services. The program is focused on substance abuse treatment programs servicing people with HIV/AIDS in the African American, Latino/Hispanic and Other Minority Communities.

This program aims to enhance and expand substance abuse treatment and/or outreach and prevention services that are provided in conjunction with HIV/AIDS services in the African American, Latino/Hispanic, and other racial and ethnic communities highly affected by the epidemics of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

Public and private non profit organizations are encouraged to apply. Grantees must ensure that they will use methods to reach out to high-risk substance abusers in racial and ethnic communities and will launch efforts to address the needs of one or more of the following populations: 

        Women, including mothers and their children,

        Adolescents (ages 12-17) and/or young adults (ages 18-24),

        Injecting and at-risk non-injecting drug (including alcohol) users and their partners, including men who have sex with men, and

        Individuals released from incarceration within the past two years.

It is expected that $19.8 million in grants will be available to fund up to 50 grants. The average annual award amount is expected to be up to $450,000 per year for grantees providing treatment services, and up to $350,000 a year for grantees providing outreach and pretreatment services.  Grants for both types of services could last up to 5 years.

Applications are available by calling SAMHSA’s Information Line at 1-877-SAMHSA7 [TDD: 1 800-487-4889] or by downloading at http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2008/ti_08_006.aspx .  Applicants are encouraged to apply online using www.grants.gov.

Applicants with questions about program issues should contact David C. Thompson at 240-276-1623 or david.thompson@samhsa.hhs.gov. For questions on grants management issues, contact Kathleen Sample at 240-276-140 7 or kathleen.sample@samhsa.hhs.gov

Applications are due on March 27, 2008.  

4. Registration Open for AIDSWatch 2008

Registration is now open for AIDSWatch 2008, taking place in Washington DC from April 28-30, 2008. AIDSWatch is a grassroots advocacy program, organized by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA), which brings HIV positive people and their supporters to Washington DC to meet their elected Members of Congress. AIDSWatch participants are given the opportunity to educate their legislators on the need for an improved governmental response to the domestic HIV epidemic. This year’s AIDSWatch will focus on the need for improved treatment accessibility, science and evidence based prevention, and increased appropriations for HIV/AIDS programs.

NAPWA says, "We invite all persons infected and affected by HIV in America to join us in 2008 to allow your voice to be heard in our nation's capital. Please revisit the website frequently for updates about the 2008 program and registration."

To learn more and to register, please visit: http://napwa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19.

The AIDS Action Weekly Update
The Weekly Update is written with a mind toward the interests of our members. If you are interested in membership with AIDS Action, we invite you to contact members@aidsaction.org.

AIDS Action
1730 M Street NW, Suite 611
Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 530-8030
Fax: (202) 530-8031
Privacy Statement