The Human Rights
Campaign released its third annual World AIDS Day report
card Friday, marking another year of failed U.S. policies to
combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The report card rates
the response by Congress and the Bush administration
to HIV/AIDS in four areas: prevention, care and
treatment, research, and global AIDS. In 2006 a new
category was added--ending AIDS-related
stigma/discrimination--in honor of the 25th
anniversary of the first reported case of the disease.
"We are hopeful
that with a new congressional leadership the failed
policies of the past will not continue to be
repeated," said Human Rights Campaign president
Joe Solmonese in a statement. "Since we began this
report card three years ago, the Bush administration and
congressional leadership's response to this
global pandemic has been grossly inadequate."
The grades for 2006 are dismal: an F
for prevention, D for care and treatment, F for
research, F for ending AIDS-related
stigma/discrimination, and C for global AIDS. These follow
the poor marks from previous years: In 2004 the grades
were an F for prevention, D for care and treatment, C
for research, and C for global AIDS; in 2005
they were an F, F, D, and C, respectively.
But Solmonese added that these bad marks do not
diminish the positive work done by others in the
HIV/AIDS community. "As in years past, this report
card does not take away from the extraordinary work that has
been done by many outspoken champions fighting to put real
policies in place to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS,"
Solmonese said. "Unfortunately, too often in
the past their courageous work has been overshadowed
by a government leadership that was more focused on allowing
ideology to drive our response to HIV and AIDS."
(The Advocate)
