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This
Week in Washington
1. State
Department Drops Ban on HIV Positive Diplomats
2. Population
Council Releases Carraguard Microbicide Trial Results
3. FY 2009
Budget Update
Announcements
1. Upcoming Connecting to Care
Trainings
2. Black Church
Week of Prayer Begins March 2nd
3. SAMHSA Accepting Applications for
HIV/AIDS Grants
4. Registration
Open for AIDSWatch 2008
This Week in Washington
1. State Department Drops Ban on HIV Positive
Diplomats
On Friday,
February 15th the State Department changed a ruling that
disqualified HIV positive individuals from becoming United States Diplomats.
Effective Friday, the Department removed HIV from a list of medical conditions
that automatically disqualifies Foreign Service candidates from meeting
employment requirements.
The decision
was sparked by a lawsuit filed by an HIV positive man who was denied entry into
the United States Foreign Service solely based on his positive status. The
State Department then consulted with medical experts and decided to change the
ruling. Now, prospective diplomats living with HIV will be considered for
Foreign Service on a case by base basis to determine eligibility. The policy
change occurred just two weeks before the scheduled trial; the lawsuit was
brought against the department in 2003.
A State
Department spokesperson said, “The department's chief medical officer had revised
its medical clearance guidelines on HIV based on advances in HIV care and
treatment and consultations with medical experts. The new clearance guidelines provide
that HIV positive individuals may be deemed worldwide available if certain
medical conditions are met.''
2. Population Council Releases
Carraguard Microbicide Trial Results
On Monday,
February 18th, The Population Council released the much anticipated
results of its Phase 3 clinical trial, testing the safety and efficacy of microbicide
candidate Carraguard. The Population Council is both the product developer and
trial sponsor of Carraguard. They tested Carraguard’s safety and efficacy in a
study conducted between 2004 and 2007 that enrolled 6,202 female participants
in South Africa.
The Carraguard trial was the first Phase 3 trial of a new microbicide candidate
to reach completion. Trial results showed that Carraguard was safe and
acceptable to women, but was not effective at reducing the risk of HIV
infection.
Despite these disappointing results, many microbicide advocates called the
completion of the first large-scale effectiveness trial historic and trial
blazing. While many skeptics have said that large-scale effectiveness trials of
Microbicides could not be done, the Carraguard trial proved that such trials
can be done with both scientific rigor and ethical integrity. There are
currently twelve other microbicide candidates in human clinical trials.
To read the
Population Council’s announcement of the trial results, please visit: http://www.popcouncil.org/mediacenter/newsreleases/Carraguard_Findings.html.
To read the
Global Campaign for Microbicide’s Press Release on the trial results, please
visit: http://www.global-campaign.org/clientfiles/GCM-AMAG-GAF_PressRelease.doc.
3. FY 2009 Budget
Update
Both the
House and Senate Budget Committees are tentatively scheduled to mark up their
respective budget resolutions the week of March 3rd. Republicans
will likely offer a minority substitute budget during the mark up. The House
and the Senate are both expected to then take their resolutions to the floor
the following week, the week of March 10th.
AIDS Action
has been visiting with members of the House and Senate budget committees to
educate them on the needed increases for HIV/AIDS programs within the Federal
Budget. We have united with the greater public health community to request a
$5.3 billion increase to the Budget Function 550 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009
budget resolution. That is a 10% increase over the final amount received in FY
2008. Function 550 is the budget line
item that covers most health spending except Medicare. This includes spending
on health services, research and training, and consumer and occupational
safety. The total funding amount for the Function 550 is very important because
it includes the Ryan White CARE
Act, Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Institutes of Health, and other HIV/AIDS health funding sources.
AIDS Action
supported the Coalition for Health Funding Function 550 letter requesting the
$5.3 billion increase, which received 442 signatures – a record! Thank you to
everyone that signed on. To view the final letter and list of signatories,
please visit: http://sign-chf.org
Announcements
1.
Upcoming Connecting to Care Training
AIDS Action
is accepting registration for an upcoming Connecting to Care training.
Participants in the two-day session have an opportunity to review agency
programs with the specific objective of evaluating how successful these
activities are in addressing “unmet need.” Additionally, hands-on group
exercises are provided in a stimulating and creative environment that will help
the participants build the skills necessary to strengthen existing activities
and create new ones that connect HIV+ people to care. Limited financial support
is available to participants needing to travel to attend the sessions. Dates: Dallas, TX
March 26-27. For registration information, please email Dea Varsovczky, dvarsovczky@aidsaction.org.
2. Black Church Week of
Prayer Begins March 2nd
The Balm in Gilead’s Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of
AIDS will take place from Sunday, March 2 – Saturday, March 8, 2008. The Black
Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is a week long education and
awareness campaign highlighting the role of the Black Church
in addressing the AIDS crisis. This campaign serves to pave the way for the
continuous delivery of prevention education and services to the African
American community via faith communities. Church leaders and congregations
across the county will unite during the Black Church Week of Prayer for the
Healing and Eradication of HIV/AIDS.
To learn more about
the event, registration, or how your church can participate, please visit http://www.balmingilead.org/programs/weekofprayer2008/.
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 works
to end the HIV epidemic by advancing public policies that
prevent new infections, provide care for people living with
HIV, and support the search for a cure. AIDS Action serves
as the national voice for people living with HIV and represents
AIDS service organizations, health departments, and a diverse
network of community-based organizations across the country. |
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