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State health officials reported last week that 337 patients are on a waiting list for enrollment in South Carolina's AIDS Drug Assistance Program. The program currently serves about 2,000 residents a month. If funding remains level, that same number of individuals - 2,000 - are projected to be on the waiting list by June 2012, said Anand Nagarajan, director of the state ADAP.
Recent years have seen double-digit increases in enrollment as more patients have been diagnosed; funding, however, has increased only modestly. Current figures from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control show the federal government gave about $17 million to South Carolina's ADAP, while the state itself contributed $1.8 million.
The S.C. HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force was meeting in Columbia on Tuesday to discuss the situation; for more information, telephone Elizabeth McLendon at 803-254-6644, ext. 110. Across the country, 5,387 people were on ADAP waiting lists as of Jan. 13, according to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
