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The San Carlos Apache Tribe’s (SCAT)
council passed a resolution in support of the Public Health and Safety Code to
establish HIV/AIDS confidentiality and safeguard the privacy of HIV-infected
Native Americans. According to SCAT HIV/AIDS Coalition Chair and Public Health
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Anita L. Brock, codifying HIV/AIDS
confidentiality supports the public health system and gives the system the
authority to address the HIV threat among the San Carlos Apache community. The
resolution makes HIV testing optional for SCAT members. Brock stated that the
code strengthens the tribe’s public health infrastructure by providing for
privacy and continuity of care. The more than 500 tribes in US Indian country
also would have the option to pass the resolution.
CDC reported in 2011 that HIV
incidence rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives were higher than HIV
rates for whites and Asians but lower than new infection rates among blacks,
Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. However, survival rates for
HIV-infected Alaska Natives/American Indians were the worst of any race or
ethnicity.
Native American and HIV/AIDS
Activist Isadore Boni asserted that HIV incidence among Native Americans was
much higher than CDC estimates because many tribe members leave the reservation
and migrate to urban areas for HIV testing and treatment. He stated that SCAT
health department decision makers had been unaware of the HIV prevalence among
tribe members and that San Carlos health services did not maintain confidentiality
of HIV-infected persons. Boni tested positive for HIV and hepatitis C in 2002
and advocated for the passage of the privacy rules and regulations on the
reservation. Because Boni could not access HIV services on the reservation, he
moved to Phoenix for treatment.
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!
