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More than a decade of efforts to
improve HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Massachusetts could be jeopardized
by funding cuts, advocates warn.
HIV-related programming in the state
has been reduced by 13 percent since 2008. Gov. Deval Patrick and lawmakers in
both houses have proposed flat-funding HIV/AIDS services in the next fiscal
year. In addition, the federal government plans to cut by half its $9 million
in grants to Massachusetts over five years, said Kevin Cranston, director of
the infectious-disease bureau at the state Department of Public Health.
“We have reasons to be concerned the
success we’ve seen in reducing new cases of HIV might be reversed if our
prevention, care, and resources continue to be impacted,” said Cranston, noting
that community-based providers already are coping with dwindling support from
other sources.
The state saw new HIV infections
drop by 45 percent during the last decade, from 1,179 in 2000 to 648 in 2010.
HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the same period declined by a third. Cranston said
those with the disease are living longer thanks to treatment advances, about
two-thirds of HIV-positive state residents are older than 45.
Rebecca Haag of the AIDS Action
Committee is calling on state legislators to boost funding from $32.1 million
to $33.4 million this year. “Why would you not invest in a system that has
demonstrated that you’re actually reducing the burden in other parts of the
budget?” asked Haag, AAC’s president and CEO.
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!
