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Plunge in state revenue triggers AIDS funding ‘crisis’

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Heather Hauck, director of the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene’s infectious disease division (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

The worst economic recession since the Great Depression is devastating state and local government budgets, especially HIV/AIDS budgets, a panel of AIDS experts said Thursday.

In a briefing on Capitol Hill for congressional staff members, state and local AIDS office officials from Maryland and California, along with leaders of AIDS service groups in Los Angeles and Louisville, Ky., said they were scrambling to carry out their work in the midst of unprecedented state budget cuts.

Facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, California slashed its state AIDS budget by $85 million, resulting in what two of the panelists from Los Angeles called crushing budget cuts for HIV prevention and treatment programs.

“To say that we were shocked is to put it mildly,” said Phillip Curtis, director of government affairs for AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Curtis and Mario Perez, director of the Los Angeles County Office of AIDS Programs & Policy, told about 25 Senate staffers in one of two presentations that cutbacks in HIV treatment and prevention programs could result in an increase in new HIV infections.

According to Curtis, AIDS Project Los Angeles lost $1.9 million in state funds, forcing it to lay off staff and reduce the HIV treatment and prevention services it provides to thousands of clients, including gay male and transgender clients.

Both said their respective agencies were continuing to assist a large number of clients and, in the case of Curtis’s group, fundraisers were retained to solicit more private sector funds from foundations. Their main concern now, the two said, was the possibility of more state funding cuts in the next fiscal year.

Heather Hauck, director of the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene’s infectious disease division, said her state’s HIV programs were hit with a $786,720 budget cut in fiscal year 2009 and a $702,768 cut in fiscal 2010. She noted that the cuts have resulted in some staff layoffs, furloughs and salary reductions.

Pointing to a national survey, she said state revenue shortfalls due to the recession are forcing many states to reduce their contribution to the joint state-federal AIDS Drug Assistance Program, known as ADAP.

Hauck said the cutbacks have resulted in at least nine states running out of funds to provide life-saving antiretroviral drugs to all the low-income HIV patients that need them. The funding shortfall means these and possibly other states must establish waiting lists for patients to obtain ADAP funded drugs.

Maryland, Virginia and D.C. are not among the jurisdictions forced to set up ADAP waiting lists, according to information Hauck provided. But she and the other panelists expressed concern that unless the federal government boosts its share of ADAP funding, waiting lists will surface in more states.

Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of The AIDS Institute, a Washington-based advocacy group, and moderator of the two congressional briefings, said state and local AIDS office officials are calling on the Obama administration to help offset the state budget cuts by increasing funds for the Ryan White Care Act. The Ryan White program is the federal government’s main funding source to state and local AIDS agencies.

Schmid said a coalition of AIDS organizations called the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership wants the administration to ask Congress to appropriate $3.1 billion for the Ryan White program in fiscal year 2011, representing an increase of $818 million over the fiscal year 2010 funding.

He said the coalition also wants Congress to approve an emergency supplemental budget allocation of $126 million this year for ADAP.

“We know times are tight, but there are a lot of people’s lives at stake,” Schmid said.

Bobby Edelen, president of the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Advocacy Action Group and a person living with AIDS, told the briefing that the lives of many of the people his organization assists in Louisville and other cities are being placed in jeopardy over his own state’s budget cuts.

“You’ve heard enough about numbers,” he said. “I’m here to talk about the personal side of this. I’ve been living with this disease for 20 years.”

He said an ADAP waiting list in Kentucky is likely to result in a decline in health of people with HIV that he knows personally.

“You’re going to lose some people if they can’t get the treatment and services they need,” he said. “I understand that money is tight. But we are the greatest nation on earth. We can make things possible.”

The four panelists and Schmid, who served as moderator, conducted a morning briefing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building for Senate staffers and an afternoon briefing at the Rayburn House Office Building for U.S. House staffers.

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Health

UNAIDS to commemorate Zero Discrimination Day’s 10th anniversary

UN agency urges global action to protect human rights

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A UNAIDS anti-discrimination exhibit at Tocumen International Airport in Panama in 2018. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day; UNAIDS is sounding the alarm on the increasing threats to human rights, calling for renewed efforts to protect the rights of all individuals as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for everyone.

Established by UNAIDS a decade ago, Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote equality and fairness regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or HIV status. The progress achieved over the past years is now in jeopardy, however, due to rising attacks on the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the critical link between protecting human rights and safeguarding public health. 

“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health,” she said in a press release. “Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030. It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”

Despite challenges, there has been notable progress. 

At the onset of the AIDS pandemic more than 40 years ago, two-thirds of countries criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. They are now decriminalized in two-thirds of countries. An additional 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, contributing to positive changes that include 50 million more girls attending school compared to 2015.

To sustain and enhance these advancements; UNAIDS urges global support for women’s rights movements, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and peace initiatives. By standing with communities advocating for their rights, the U.N. aims to reinforce the collective effort towards a more inclusive and equitable world.

Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1.

Events and activities that will take place around the world throughout the month will serve as reminders of the essential lesson and call to action: Protecting everyone’s health is synonymous with protecting everyone’s rights.

“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world — for everyone,” said Byanyima.

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Health

New CDC report finds transgender women at higher risk for HIV

More than 1,600 people in seven cities surveyed

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (Photo courtesy of the CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new study report this week that revealed that restricted by employment and housing discrimination and lack of access to needed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender women increasing the risk of contracting HIV. 

Researchers reviewed data from a 2019-2020 survey, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, which found that the demographics of HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally high, especially among Black and Latina trans women, who had experienced employment and housing discrimination coupled with lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare.

The Jan. 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was based on data studies of more than 1,600 trans women in seven major urban locales. Participants from Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were chosen by referrals from people and community-based organizations who knew or were part of the local population of trans women.

The study’s researchers noted: “Employment discrimination occurs at the overlapping nexus of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, health insurance, disability, food insecurity and survival sex work. These issues are interconnected.”

The study stated that trans women’s inability to access quality healthcare, including gender-affirming treatment or access to PrEP, and can expose them to potential incarceration as many turn to “survival sex work” and violence, which increases the risk of contracting HIV. 

The study’s author’s pointed out: “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships. This analysis …demonstrates the importance of transgender women working and living with dignity and without fear of unfair treatment.”

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Health

A Whole New Perspective on Well-Being

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

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The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns.

It’s easy to spot the distinctive, elegant silhouette of The Mather, a Life Plan Community for those 62+ opening this spring in Tysons, Virginia. What is not apparent to the naked eye is The Mather’s unique wellness philosophy, which is literally built into the community. 

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

Nature is one of the important factors that contribute to well-being. So The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns. This can include interior spaces with sightlines to a garden, choosing natural wood and stone as interior materials, or incorporating fragrant flowers and plants indoors to spark memories and provide tactile opportunities such as gardening. 

Residents of The Mather will be able to select from plentiful amenities, programs, and other offerings to target their personal wellness goals and preferences.

“Providing biophilic design within interior settings connects residents to the natural world,” says Mary Leary, CEO and President of Mather, the organization behind The Mather. “Research shows that a connection to nature provides positive benefits to mental states and overall well-being. At The Mather, biophilic design is the intersection of buildings and programs with nature in an urban setting.”

“The Mather is attracting a diverse group of older adults,” says Mary. “As a result, we aim to incorporate wellness practices from around the world, including Wyda movement theory of the Celtic Druids, which helps people achieve harmony with nature and contentment through mindfulness.” This holistic regenerative approach is similar to Qi Gong and yoga, while born in a different part of the world. Mather Institute has a special focus on mindfulness to support older adults’ practice of present moment awareness, which can lead to increased overall well-being, compassion, and joy.

A very different example of a wellness offering at The Mather is the Gharieni Welnamis spa wave bed, which uses computer-controlled vibrational therapy and audio frequencies to train the brain to relax. “The bed increases mindfulness, concentration, and creativity—all of which support our mission of creating Ways to Age Well,SM” says Mary.

These and other personalized ways to wellness will ensure that residents of The Mather can choose from seemingly countless ways to focus on their well-being. In other words, the sky’s the limit!

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