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March 2006 NORA Coalition
Discusses the Administration’s Prevention Policies Mr. Bates began his presentation by announcing that he had a new “boss” at HHS: Dr. John Agwunobi. Dr. Agwunobi is the new assistant secretary for Health, an agency that oversees the Office of HIV Policy among others. He came to HHS from the Florida Department of Health, Mr. Bates noted. He added that Dr. Agwunobi is very excited to be working on HIV at the federal level after participating in a state response to HIV that has accomplished so much. Florida, Mr. Bates explained, is making excellent progress in decreasing the number of new HIV infections occurring in the state, particularly among African American women and men who have sex with men (MSM). Mr. Bates went on to discuss the President’s recommended budget for fiscal year (FY) 2007. He said that he’s “excited” about the new money proposed for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), $93 million total. He reminded everyone, however, that the President’s budget is just a proposal and certainly not finalized in anyway. However, if Congress fulfills this request, the plan is to direct the funding to the states as well as to the six cities that are directly funded by the CDC (Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco). It will be for “mostly testing,” which Mr. Bates identified as a “good thing.” In addition, some of the money will be used to fund more programs for substance users and prisoners. Mr. Bates said that he’s looking forward to focusing much more attention on the HIV prevention and care work in correctional facilities. During a question and answer period that followed Mr. Bates’ remarks, one NORA member asked about the CDC’s recently proposed guidelines for HIV testing in health care settings (these guidelines are not final and are currently open for public comment). The proposed guidelines recommend an opt-out testing procedure, where individuals would be tested for HIV unless they said they did not want the test. The NORA member asked whether testers would be advised to inform people of their right to opt out of the HIV test. In reply, Mr. Bates said that the CDC is developing curricula to bring into health care settings to teach providers how to better handle the opt-out process. Following the question and answer period, Mr. Bates urged AIDS service organizations in states and localities to invite their federal legislators to visit their clinics. He said that many Members of Congress and their staffs do not have a “personal connection” to HIV. They are not acquainted with the effects of the HIV epidemic in their states and/or districts. In order to remedy this situation, he said, Members and their staffs need to be exposed to HIV programs being administered by their constituents, as well as to constituents living with HIV. In this way, he said, they will be more likely to advocate on behalf of these programs. In closing, Mr. Bates announced the first national HIV conference for North America’s native populations: “Embracing Our Traditions, Values, and Teachings: Native Peoples of North America HIV/AIDS Conference.” The conference will be held May 2 - 6 in Anchorage, Alaska. For more information on the conference, go to: http://www.embracingourtraditions.org/home.asp?flash=true. |
