D.C. AIDS organizations lose CDC funding

Several Washington, D.C.-area AIDS organizations have lost HIV prevention funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to a new emphasis at the federal agency to encourage HIV-positive people to resist exposing others to the virus, The Washington Post reports. Metro TeenAIDS, the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, the National Organization of Concerned Black Men, and the Sasha Bruce Youthwork Agency together lost nearly $1 million in funding for traditional HIV prevention programs as a result of the shift. AIDS activists say the funding losses could lead to higher HIV prevalence among youth in the region, who were one of the main focus groups for traditional HIV prevention campaigns that encouraged condom use and other risk-reduction behaviors. Metro TeenAIDS executive director Adams Tenner says high rates of sexual activity by young people in the area--pegged at about one-third higher than the national average--already puts them at a significant risk for HIV infection but that the risk will be even higher due to a lack of prevention programs for teens and young adults.