Health officials
in Montgomery, Ala., say they have the tools and
willpower to slow the spread of HIV in the region but lack
the money to launch effective HIV prevention efforts,
the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Nearly 1,000
Montgomery County residents are currently HIV-positive, and
the rate of new infections is 57 per 100,000 residents
each year. At that rate, the county's number of
HIV-positive residents will double in less than 10
years.
James Waid,
director of Montgomery AIDS Outreach, told the
Advertiser that it is possible to slow the spread
of HIV in the area but that there are not enough prevention
funds available to conduct adequate outreach. His
organization has only four HIV prevention educators,
who work in 16 state counties.
The state
provides only about $300,000 annually for HIV prevention
programs, which Jane Cheeks, director of the Alabama
Department of Public Health's HIV prevention and
control division, says falls far short. "I
think we need more money for prevention. We need to stop the
infection, rather than treat it," she told the
newspaper.
Lawmakers are
currently working on a new state budget, but no proposals
have been introduced to boost HIV prevention spending.
(Advocate.com)