More States Reject Abstinence-Only Federal Funding; No Change in Fenty Policy

The Associated Press reports that an increasing number of states are rejecting ill-advised Abstinence-Only-Until Marriage funding; and rightly so. There is no scientific evidence that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs—those that censor information about contraception—are effective in preventing HIV or teen pregnancy.

Numerous youth organizations in the District of Columbia have asked Adrian Fenty to also reject these funds, but to date there has been no change in the District of Columbia policy. (I personally asked Adrian Fenty to reject these funds at a Gertrude Stein Democrats Meeting on May 14th, 2007)

The Associated Press reports:

Some $50 million has been budgeted for this year, and financially strapped states might be expected to want their share. But many have doubts that the program does much, if any good, and they're frustrated by chronic uncertainty that it will even be kept in existence. They also have to chip in state money in order to receive the federal grants.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, made his decision to leave based on the congressionally mandated curriculum, which teaches "the social, psychological and health gains of abstaining from sexual activity." Instructors must teach that sexual activity outside of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.

A total of twenty two states have rejected these funds. Most recently, New York State rejected the funds. In addition two states, Arizona and Iowa, have announced their intention to forgo their share of the federal grant at the start of the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

This funding comes with strings attached that are simply unacceptable. The messages required by abstinence-only-until-marriage funding are damaging to gay and lesbian youth. Further, they are Ineffective, Unethical, and Poor Public Health.

I sincerely hope that the District of Columbia will listen to the concerns of the community and reject this funding once and for all.

Mayor Promises Continued Momentum as City Improves HIV/AIDS Report Card Grade

On Thursday, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and DC Appleseed Executive Director Walter Jones released a third “report card” that assesses the government’s performance in 11 areas around HIV/AIDS in the District. As a follow-up to DC Appleseed’s August 2005 report, HIV/AIDS in the Nation’s Capital: Improving the District of Columbia’s Response to a Public Health Crisis, DC Appleseed has periodically issued report cards to monitor the District’s progress.

The District’s release of the 2007 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report included the first-ever data on HIV in the District and updated AIDS statistics, earned the District an “A”. The report is also being praised as providing the city a critical tool that will be used for targeting a response.

“This is not a time to rest on our laurels and congratulate ourselves for our success,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “All progress is good progress, but we have much farther to go.”

The District’s Department of Health HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) is developing and implementing strategies to meet the large scale of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Some of the District’s promising approaches include:

• Working to ensure that all medical providers are offering routine HIV testing and all hospitals have rapid testing available in their emergency rooms by 2009.
• Making local dollars immediately available for new comprehensive interventions as soon as Congress lifts the ban on syringe exchange services in the District.
• Increasing availability and education about condoms and planning to distribute three million by 2009.
• Reassuring District taxpayers that HAA has full accountability among its community providers with their services.
• Collecting accurate data on services and bringing in the technical expertise available from federal and other partners to work with providers.
• Working on interagency coordination with stronger agreements with sister District government agencies to mainstream HIV prevention, testing and linkages to care and treatment.
  Other areas that were highlighted include the commitment by top city leaders to reforms and the administrations continued HIV testing program and other HIV prevention services at the DC Jail.

Summary: DC Appleseed’s Third HIV/AIDS Report Card

	Grades From First Report Card	Grades From Second Report Card	Grades From Third Report Card
Leadership	B-	B-	B+
Interagency Coordination	N/A	C-	B-
HIV Surveillance & Data	Incomplete	B	A
Grants Management	B	B-	B
Quality Assurance	N/A	B-	B-
Rapid Testing	B	B	B+
Routine HIV Testing	C
Condom Distribution	D	D+	B
D.C. Public Schools	B-	C-	D
Syringe Exchange Services	B-	B-	B+
Substance Abuse Treatment	D+	D+	C+
HIV/AIDS among the Incarcerated	C+	B+	A
Website	B+	N/A	N/A

View the entire report card here.

Voice of America Report: HIV in DC

Just days before the international observance of World AIDS Day December 1, a new report by the government of Washington, D.C., offered some grim statistics. One in 50 people in the nation's capital has AIDS. One in 20 is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The city has the highest HIV infection rate in the nation. City officials are calling it a "modern epidemic."

When Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty came into office last January, he made HIV/AIDS his number one public health priority. He reaffirmed that commitment this week with the release of the city's first annual Epidemiology Report. "It's the first time the District of Columbia government has its own statistics on the infection rate and, most importantly, it will allow us to do something about it."

continue reading at Voice of America.

DC Must Watch Needle-Exchange Closely

From Kaiser Daily: Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty and other district leaders should "remain vigilant" as the Senate this month likely will vote on a $21 billion appropriations bill that would lift a ban on city funding for needle-exchange programs, Grant Smith -- legislative assistant for the Office of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance -- writes in a Washington Post letter to the editor in response to a Nov. 30 Post editorial (Smith, Washington Post, 12/4).

The House in June passed the appropriations bill after lawmakers voted to remove language that prevents the district from financing the programs. The ban was first imposed under a federal law signed by former President Clinton in 1998 that prohibits the district government from using local tax money to fund any organization that operates a needle-exchange program. The House has added the ban each year to the district's appropriations bill (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/2).

According to Smith, the bill has "languished in the Senate since July." District leaders should be aware this month, "when the Senate will be in a rush" to pass the bill, Smith writes, adding that the Senate "should reject any last-minute attempts to restore the ban." Only after President Bush "signs the bill can the district focus on delivering on its promise to infuse critically needed money" into needle-exchange programs, Smith writes, concluding, "We cannot afford to assume Congress and the president will do the right thing" (Washington Post, 12/4).

Fenty Fires DOH Director Dr. Gregg Pane

The Washington Post reports that "D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty fired Gregg A. Pane today as director of the city's Department of Health, three years after Pane was selected by former Mayor Anthony A. Williams to run the long-troubled agency."

Dr. Gregg Pane had also been serving as the interim Director of the DC HIV/AIDS Administration, until this week, when Dr. Shannon Hader began her roll as the new Director.

Although Dr. Pane never received a grade from DC Appleseed during his time as interim director, one could argue that his performance overseeing the HIV/AIDS Administration was not significantly better than previous directors.

read the whole Washington Post article here

Squidoo: Adrian Fenty and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo.com page which looks at Adrian Fenty and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC. Mayor Fenty is the person who ultimately oversees both the HIV AIDS Administration within the DC Department of Health and the HIV/AIDS Program within the DC Public Schools.

Bookmark the new Squidoo.com: www.squidoo.com/adrianfenty.

New York Rejects 'Financing Ignorance': Will DC Follow?

Today New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines announced that New York is joining the growing number of states that are rejecting the Bush Administration's Abstinence Only Program.

Daines stated "The Bush administration's Abstinence Only Program is an example of a failed national healthcare policy directive, based on ideology rather than on sound scientific- based evidence that must be the cornerstone of good public healthcare policy."

While the policy has been in effect for some time, Daines comments coincided with the release of the report Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York.

Daines continued: "In keeping with the Governor Spitzer's progressive healthcare agenda for New York, on July 2rd the department cancelled all existing abstinence only contracts under the federal Title V program that began under the previous administration. Earlier this year, the department made a conscious decision not to reapply for funds under this program due to the increasingly rigid federal standards imposed on New York and other states that were contrary to our commitment to fully educate adolescents about the risks associated with sexual behavior."

On numerous occasions, concerned DC residents have asked Adrian Fenty to unequivocally reject Abstinence-Only-Until Marriage Funding. I asked Mayor Fenty if he would reject this money at a Gertrude Stein Democrats Meeting in May 2007. A coalition of local youth serving organizations also asked Mayor Fenty to reject this money in May.

The organizations that signed on to this request include: City Year Washington DC, DC Primary Care Association, Girls Incorporated of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, The Latin American Youth Center, Metro TeenAIDS, Sasha Bruce Youth Work, Young Womens Project, and Youth Action Research Group.

New York is one of eleven states that has rejected abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. The other states are California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Let's hope the District of Columbia is next.

Trojan Expected to Donate 350,000 Condoms to DC

The Washington Blade Reports that "Mayor Adrian Fenty is expected to announce within the next week that Washington will receive a donation of at least 350,000 condoms from the Princeton, N.J., corporation that produces the Trojan brand condom, according to sources familiar with the city government."

read the entire story here.

DC Fights Back Sends Letter to Adrian Fenty

Newly elected DC Fights Back Co-Chairs, George Kerr & Larry Bryant, sent a letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty last week to update him on the results of the DC HIV/AIDS Speakout held in May. They included a copy of the Final Speakout Report.

Also included in the letter was a plea to Adrian Fenty to appoint a full-time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. They write...

"... at the moment one of the most pressing concerns regarding HIV/AIDS in the District is the lack of a full time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Six months into your administration, you are the first Mayor since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic who has operated without a full time HIV/AIDS Director. We urge you to appoint a Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration and we stand ready to work with the individual you appoint."

Between Promise and Performance: Leadership

Promise & Performance:
Leadership | Condom Distribution | HIV Testing | X-Pres

Leadership

The District of Columbia still does not have a Director for the HIV/AIDS Administration. For six months now, the HIV/AIDS Administration has been a ship without a captain. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced at the beginning of his term, that he would not reappoint Marsha Martin to the position. At that time, Gregg Pane, head of the Department of Health, appointed himself as interim leader.

Gregg Pane continues to split his time between his responsibilities as the head of the Department of Health and as the interim leader of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Both Pane and Fenty have referred to HIV/AIDS as the top health priority in the District, yet for six months now, we have settled for part-time leadership.

The Promise: On February 9th, the Washington Blade reported that: "he (Gregg Pane) said he and Fenty would name a new director of the administration in 30 to 60 days after Pane 'gets to the bottom' of what AIDS activists and health advocacy groups have said has been a problem-plagued agency for years."

The Performance: Gregg Pane failed to make good on this statement. Now, five months later, we are still waiting for a new Director. Adrian Fenty now bears the awkward distinction of being the only Mayor of DC without a full time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration since the beginning of the epidemic.

Washington Post Article on 'New' Testing Initiative

On National HIV Testing Day Mayor Adrian Fenty and DOH head Greg Pane announced a new HIV testing plan without offering any additional information about the outcome of the last HIV testing plan.

The Washington Post reports:

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and city health director Gregg A. Pane used National HIV Testing Day to announce the effort, which aims to boost by 25 percent the number of young people who know their HIV status. It will be one of several new undertakings, all of which target some of the city's most at-risk populations, and could force the often-criticized school system to implement a comprehensive, up-to-date HIV/AIDS curriculum.

While the focus on young people is encouraging, and the reference to comprehensive sexuality education is much needed, I still find myself wondering if we accomplished any of the goals we set with the last HIV testing plan. Where is the accountability? Even after the Washington Post filed a Freedom of Information Act Request to get this information, we are still in the dark.

The biggest challenge the HIV/AIDS Administration faces is not setting goals, it is meeting them. As I have been blogging this week, the challenge is getting from promises to performance. If there is no accountability for accomplishing the last plan, it's hard to imagine anyone will be held accountable for accomplishing this one.

While I would like to be optimistic, I can't help but wonder how this plan is any different from all the other plans that have fallen by the wayside.

New York Times Editorial on DC Needle Exchange

From Kaiser Daily: Congress' ban on locally financed needle-exchange programs in Washington, D.C., is an "insult to the city's voters and a clear hazard to public health," a New York Times editorial says (New York Times, 6/4). A federal law signed by former President Clinton in 1998 bans the district government from using local tax money to fund any organization that operates a needle-exchange program. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) recently said he will make it a priority to push for the removal of language from a district appropriations bill that prevents the city from financing needle-exchange programs. District Mayor Adrian Fenty has said that he will provide funds for needle-exchange programs as soon as Congress removes the language (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/29).

According to the Times, the large number of HIV cases in the district that can be traced to injection drug use is "partly the fault of Congress," which has "wrongly and disastrously used its power" over the district's budget to ban the city from funding needle-exchange programs to curb the spread of the virus. "Ideologues" in Congress "need to get out of the way and let public health officials save lives" by implementing a needle-exchange program in the district, the editorial concludes (New York Times, 6/4).

Education Town Halls Scheduled In Ward 7 and 8

Mayor Adrian Fenty wants to hear your ideas for improving the District's Public School System. The Mayor will hold town halls in every ward with to capture input from parents, teachers, and students.

The first two of these forums are in Ward 7 and Ward 8. The Ward 8 Town Hall will be Tuesday May 29th at 6:30 PM at Johnson Junior High, 1400 Bruce Place, SE. The Ward 7 Town Hall will be Tuesday June 5th at 6:30 PM at Smothers Elementary, 4400 Brooks St, NE. click here to download the flyer with details on these two events.

Mayor Fenty needs to hear that every young person has the right to honest and accurate information about how to be protected from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, and that comprehensive sex education in our public schools must become a top priority.

If you attend these events I encourage you to tell Mayor Fenty you support comprehensive sex education in our public schools.

I also encourage you to ask the following important question. Is the Mayor ready to reject the abstinence-only-until marriage federal funding that the District currently accepts?

As you may know, a broad coalition of youth-serving organizations have written a letter asking Mayor Fenty to reject the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding.

The broad coalition of organizations that signed on to the letter include: DC Fights Back, City Year Washington DC, DC Primary Care Association, Girls Incorporated of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, The Latin American Youth Center, Metro TeenAIDS, Sasha Bruce Youth Work, Young Womens Project, and Youth Action Research Group. To see the complete list read the letter.

The American Medical Association has rejected abstinence-only-until-marriage education. They support teaching abstinence as well as honest and accurate information about HIV and pregnancy prevention.

The Mayor however, has yet to commit to rejecting the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding. (This funding also requires a local match, meaning your local tax dollars go towards an HIV prevention program that medical experts agree doesn't work).

Outcome Document from Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS

Those of us who attended the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS received the outcome documents in the mail last week. If you didn't have a chance to participate, click here to download the outcome documents and see what we talked about.

Mayor Adrian Fenty on Comprehensive Sex Education

Mayor Fenty spoke last night at a meeting of the Gertrude Stein Democrats. I had six questions for Mayor Fenty, but only time to ask one. I decided on comprehensive sex education with a two part question.

First: Is the Mayor ready to reject the abstinence-only-until marriage federal funding that the District currently accepts? Second: What will the Mayor do to make sure that DC schools are providing comprehensive sex education?

As you may know, a broad coalition of youth-serving organizations have written a letter asking Mayor Fenty to reject the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding. There are many reasons to reject this money, probably the most significant one being that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs simply don't work. Further, the federal funds require a local match, requiring us to spend our own local money on a program that we know doesn't make sense.

The broad coalition of organizations that worked on this include: the letter include DC Fights Back, City Year Washington DC, DC Primary Care Association, Girls Incorporated of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, The Latin American Youth Center, Metro TeenAIDS, Sasha Bruce Youth Work, Young Womens Project, and Youth Action Research Group. To see the complete list read the letter.

Unfortunately, Adrian Fenty did not say he would follow the recommendation of these organizations and reject abstinence-only-until-marriage money. He did commit, however to looking into the issue.

On the second part of the question, Mayor Fenty said (and I quote) "The District of Columbia should have the leading comprehensive sex education program in the country".

This quote is encouraging. The state of comprehensive sex education in the District is not. Don't get me wrong. There are some great programs out there like the City Year Project Hope Team, which plans to double their size next year. City Year is not welcome in every school, however. We know many schools in DC shut the door to Project Hope and to other medically accurate comprehensive sex education programs. This has got to change.

The good news though, is that Adrian Fenty agreed to have a sit-down meeting to discuss these issues, which is a start. I hope that several of the organizations listed above will be able to participate.

If your organization has not reached out to the Mayor's office on this issue, I encourage you to do so now.

Six Questions for Mayor Adrian Fenty

Mayor Adrian Fenty will be making an appearance at the Gertrude Stein Democrats meeting Monday May 14th. Mayor Fenty will be discussing several issues of relevance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, which is likely to include HIV/AIDS. I will be looking specifically for an update on progress made on the HIV/AIDS front since the Mayor’s HIV/AIDS Summit last month.

While many of the issues raised at the summit are long-standing problems that will require long-term solutions, there are also several short-term issues that require immediate action. The most pressing questions are:

1. When can we expect the appointment of a full-time director of the HIV/AIDS Administration?

2. What will the Mayor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS look like under the Fenty administration and when can we expect this task force to be operational?

3. What is the status of the outcome document from the Mayor’s Summit on HIV/AIDS, and when will this document be made available? What are the next steps to ensure that the recommendations from the summit are implemented.

4. During the summit, Mayor Fenty made a pledge to Raymond Blanks to come up with a plan for better communication between the Mayor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS, the HIV Community Planning Group, the Ryan White Planning Council, the HIV/AIDS Admministration, and the Mayor’s office. Mayor Fenty said we could expect to see a plan in the next 60-90 days. What progress has been made in this area?

5. Given the overwhelming evidence that federally funded abstinence-only-until-heterosexual-marriage programs have no benefit and are damaging to LGBT youth , is the Mayor committed to join with the states who have rejected this federal funding? Given the Mayor’s new authority in DC Public Schools, how can we work together to assure that every student in DC receives comprehensive sex education?

6. How is the Department of Health responding to the new data on circumcision as an HIV prevention measure? How can we guarantee that men who want this procedure receive it regardless of whether or not it is covered by their health insurance or they can afford it.

I hope to be at the meeting on May 14th, but it depends on how much work remains planning for the Speakout on the 17th, and HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on the 18th.

I encourage you to attend this meeting and to print out these questions and take them with you. Let's make sure they all get asked and answered.

Blade Article on Mayor's HIV Summit

The Washington Blade has a good article covering the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS. The article quotes Adrian Fenty stating: “You have my full support, as mayor of the District of Columbia, that we will show the kind of leadership, follow-through and engagement to make sure that we’re making fast and steady progress on this crisis."

There's also some great quotes from Alex Lawson (pictured left). click here to read the whole article

Mayor Adrian Fenty to Deliver 10 Millionth Food & Friends Meal

Join special guest, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, and Food & Friends' clients, volunteers, board, staff and supporters as they commemorate the 10 millionth Food & Friends meal. Mayor Adrian Fenty will package Food & Friends' 10 millionth meal and deliver it to a Food & Friends client.

The event takes place Tuesday, April 17 from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. at Food & Friends, 219 Riggs Road, NE. Shuttle Service Available from Fort Totten Metro Station. To RSVP, click here

Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS

I will post my thoughts on the summit tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime, here is a review of the Post Article from Kaiser

Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty on Wednesday pledged to "put an end to [the] crisis" of HIV/AIDS in the district, although he did not commit to declaring a state of emergency based on the number of cases in the city, the Washington Post reports. Fenty held Wednesday's summit -- which was attended by more than 150 health experts, service providers and advocates -- as part of his action plan for his first 100 days in office.

Fenty said that within one week, district agencies involved with HIV/AIDS will be called on to work together and that he likely soon will select a new director for the city's Administration for HIV Policy and Programs. "This is the No. 1 (public health) priority of this government," Fenty said. Also at the summit, Department of Health Director Gregg Pane said that about 48,000 people in 2006 received HIV tests as part of the district's citywide testing campaign (Levine, Washington Post, 4/5). District health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in June 2006 launched the campaign, titled "Come Together D.C., Get Screened for HIV," which emphasizes the importance of HIV testing. The campaign aimed to reach 400,000 men, women and children ages 14 to 84 in the district. According to statistics presented at the Mayor's Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which convened for the first time in June 2006, up to 25,000 people, or more than 4% of all residents, in the district might be HIV-positive. District health officials ordered 80,000 rapid HIV tests for the campaign, which organizers planned to distribute at no cost to hospital emergency departments, private physician offices, community health programs, detoxification and substance use centers, and sexually transmitted infection treatment clinics (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/18/06).

According to Pane, the number of people screened in 2006 is the most recorded in a single year and a 75% increase compared with 2005. Half of people screened were tested at private medical facilities and more than one-third were tested in clinics or hospitals. Men and women in their mid-30s to mid-40s were the most likely to receive tests, while older teenagers and young adults were the least likely to receive tests, according to the Post. The campaign did not attain its goal of reaching the several hundred thousand residents in its targeted population, and Pane added that data collected at testing sites were not complete enough to provide the demographic information needed to develop the most effective prevention and treatment plans. According to the Post, officials are examining data to determine how many new HIV cases were identified among district residents who did not receive tests in more skewed settings, such as the city's prison facility. The district estimates that 17,000 to 23,000 people in the city are living with HIV, but "years of surveillance shortfalls mean that data-driven calculations are unavailable," the Post reports. According to Pane, 5,179 new AIDS cases were reported locally between 2001 and 2006 (Washington Post, 4/5).

Adrian Fenty's State of the District Speech

Mayor Adrian Fenty will be giving a State of the District address in Ward 8. Mayor Fenty will lay out his vision for the District and explain what he's done since taking office in January. We all know that we'd like to see Mayor Fenty do more to fight HIV/AIDS in DC. In fact, we're still waiting for a substantive response to the Letter from Campaign to End AIDS DC to Adrian Fenty.

The speech takes place today, Wednesday, March 21st, starting at 12:00 pm at the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center, 3500 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE.

I probably won't be able to make it - but if you can please do, and let us know what Adrian Fenty says about HIV/AIDS in this speech.

Fenty ‘abstinence’ Proclamation Criticized

Local gay and AIDS activists expressed concern about a proclamation issued in Washington last week by Mayor Adrian Fenty that calls for educating young people about “abstinence from sex before marriage.”

continue reading this Washington Blade article on the Blade website

DCist Blog Post on Mayor Fenty

Building on this post I wrote last week, DCist.com has a post up right now about Adrian Fenty's Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Be sure to check it out.

Adrian Fenty's Failure to Lead on HIV/AIDS

As many of you know, the Campaign to End AIDS Metro-DC submitted a letter to Adrian Fenty back on February 2nd, 2007. Disappointingly, we are still waiting on a response. We got a form letter back saying we could expect to hear from someone. More recently I was told that we would receive a written response this week but at this point, it seems unlikely that will happen.

This is the latest in a series of disappointments. With Adrian Fenty's first 100 Days more than half over, it is clear that he has failed to lead on HIV/AIDS in the District. Let's review:

1. Adrian Fenty dismissed HIV/AIDS Administration Director Marsha Martin without having a replacement in mind, leaving the agency floating adrift without a full-time, devoted Director. Department of Health head Gregg Pane has temporarily added responsibility of the HIV/AIDS Administration to his currently full plate, but his part time efforts are not sufficient. And sadly, some decisions are being held up until a new Director is selected.

2. Fenty's 100 Day Plan said almost nothing about HIV/AIDS, and the goals that were related to HIV/AIDS were vague at best.

3. Mayor Adrian Fenty failed to keep his Campaign Promise to hold a summit meeting on HIV/AIDS in the first 90 days of his administration.

Some Mayors get to choose the issues they work on; they get to select what they want to be remembered for. Other Mayors are forced to respond to the pressing emergencies of their time. Make no mistake Mayor Fenty, you will be remembered for how you respond to the HIV/AIDS emergency in DC. So far, your record is not looking good.

What Adrian Fenty Promised To Do

This is simply a direct quote from Adrian Fenty's Campaign Position Paper (emphasis mine).

"Within the first 90 days of my administration, I will convene a HIV/AIDS summit of government, faith, and community-based organization leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy to tackle the epidemic. The Mayor's Task Force on HIV/AIDS would play an important part in the Summit and it would continue to meet regularly and be part of the oversight of implementation of action items. Further, I would direct the Summit members to focus on funding issues. The District must bill for and receive every federal dollar that is available for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS."

What happened?

C2EA-MetroDC Update

Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC met last monday and had our best turnout ever for a meeting. C2EA-MetroDC has joined the call to action for an HIV/AIDS state of emergency in DC. We submitted this letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty via snail mail & e-mail which calls for a state of emergency and requests a meeting with the Mayor's office.

You can read the minutes from our last meeting here. And please be sure to join us for our next meeting on February 12th, starting at 6:00 PM at Housing Works (925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor, McPherson Square Metro).

Members of C2EA-MetroDC will be at various National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Events across the city getting the word out. Dorithia & I will set up a table and hand out info at the The Ward 7 HIV/AIDS Collaborative Reception from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Planned Parenthood Ophelia Egypt Program Center, 3933 Minnesota Avenue, NE. If you'd like to join us, just let me know.

Twenty Days and Counting

It has been 20 days since Mayor Fenty declined to reappoint Marsha Martin as Director of AHPP and still no word on a replacement. Nada. Zip.

It makes me wonder whether or not the plan to restructure the Department of Health (as mentioned in Fenty's 100 Day Plan) includes eliminating the position all-together.

Does that leave us with Gregg Pane (pictured left) as our new AIDS Czar/DOH head? I'm not convinced that Gregg Pane is focusing on HIV/AIDS. And I'm definitely not convinced that we are better off now (without a director) than we were when Marsha Martin was in office.

Mayor Fenty, I thought HIV/AIDS was a top priority for your administration. What's going on?

Twenty Days and counting. I suggested at the last Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC meeting that if the silence continues for 99 more days, we should plan a protest on day 100. I hope something happens soon, but if not, you know where I'll be on April 13th.

Washington Times Op Ed

The following op-ed appeared in the Washington Times.

Dr. Gregg Pane, the director of the D.C. Department of Health, has named himself the interim director of the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs and has named Marie Sansone (currently in charge of HIV surveillance) as his chief of staff. Dr. Pane told the Washington Blade recently that his decision to take on the temporary role stemmed from wanting to "get to the bottom of the problems" the AIDS administration has seen in the past. We hope that Dr. Pane's 20-plus years of experience in the public health sector will revamp the AIDS agency, as the staggering infection rates in the District warrant urgent action.

In what appears to be a step in that direction, the Washington Free Clinic closed its doors yesterday after nearly 40 years and will move its 12-person staff to the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Elizabeth Taylor facility so that comprehensive health care for the underserved continues. Health-care and insurance policies continue to undergo significant changes, and it has become increasingly difficult for small clinics "to stay viable," Gardiner Lapham of the Washington Free Clinic said.

Whitman-Walker, no stranger to financial struggle, had been looking to incorporate primary care into its current operations to the homosexual community with a focus on HIV/AIDS care. The goal is to retain that mission, but to also expand its capacity. Both clinics have done tremendous work in the District. Advocates hope that, by joining forces, they will be better equipped to reach more people and provide more comprehensive health care.

In terms of policy, it is long past the time for the city to stare down the atrocious HIV rate: 1 in 20 residents. Mayor Adrian Fenty has not yet articulated his administration's overall health-care policies, but we do support his decision to replace the Williams administration HIV/AIDS administrator. The District has to do far more than "blanket" the city with condoms to reverse the current HIV/AIDS crisis.

Kim Mills, director of communications for Whitman-Walker, said she is confident that the Fenty administration will continue to spread the message of testing and prevention. We are reserving comment until we see the mayor's concrete plans.

Going forward, the city and nonprofit groups need to take a head-on approach to HIV prevention and work diligently to ensure policies and public dollars are spent on practices that work. New directors and a new direction, coupled with the growing efforts at Whitman-Walker, are good first steps.

Adrian Fenty's First 100 Days

Adrian Fenty has released his plan for his first 100 days in office. The plan, which includes 200 action items, can be downloaded from the DC Government Website.

There are a few things I find interesting. First, among the action items are plans to hire several permanent staff members (Director of Dep of Human Services, Director of the Office on Aging, Director for the Department of Disability Services, Director of the Department of Disability Services). The plan does not state, however, whether or not Fenty will hire a new Director for the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs in his first 100 days. This is one action item which is urgently needed.

Also, the plan includes a cryptic goal, "Reorganize DOH to consolidate administrations and improve public health functions" which Fenty plans to do in the next 30 days." I can't help but wonder, what administrations are going to be consolidated in the next 30 days, and why didn't he just come out and tell us? I would think it's unlikely he's referring to the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, but you never know.

Regarding the other goals on HIV/AIDS, most of the action items are items DC is either already working on, or the action item is worded so broadly (i.e. "exploring") that you don't know if there will be an actual outcome.

Here are some snippets from the plan, but you really should read the whole thing for yourself.

"Preventing of sexually transmitted diseases through exploring implementation of needle exchange programs and broader condom accesibility (100 days)"

"support mental health and wellness as well as offer HIV/AIDS prevention services through DMH provider agencies (100 days)"

"Coordinate with medical service providers, especially those part of the Medicaid/Alliance safety net, to implement routine HIV testing for patients ages 14+ and up (100 days)." (isn't that what AHPP's been doing for the past year?)

"Develop an East-of-the-River HIV/AIDS response capacity-building initiative (1st year)"

"Increase community messages on testing and prevention of HIV/AIDS and explore establishing a medical home for low income residents testing positive (1st year)"

Fenty May Strengthen Smoke Free Workplace Law

Over at The DCist there has been a lot of discussion about a news report that Adrian Fenty may want to strengthen the Smoke Free Workplace Law. Currently, businesses that show a 5% drop in business can apply for an exemption. Fenty has suggested raising that standard to 15% to be more in line with other cities that have these laws, like New York.

A while back I wrote a post on Why the DC Smoke-Free Workplace Legislation is Good News for HIV Positive Workers, so I won't repeat what I said in that post. I will say, however, that I think the proposed change is a good idea for the safety of HIV positive workers, and of course all workers in the District.

Adrian Fenty's Inaugural Address

Adrian Fenty's inaugural address is now available online. Unfortunately, the speech includes what is only a passing reference to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in DC. Fenty writes:

"We also say, to our neighbors who are frail, that this Administration joins the residents of this city in decrying miserable health statistics in HIV/AIDS, heart and lung disease, cancer and diabetes that are worse here than in many impoverished nations throughout the globe. If we are serious about being an example to the rest of the world, District of Columbia residents must have access to medicine and physicians and insurance, no matter where we live in the city, nor what our income."

Fenty fails to mention that we must not only treat HIV, but we must also prevent it. Mayor Fenty could create the best health care system any city in the United States has ever had, but it will be stretched to it's capacity with one in twenty DC residents being HIV positive, and it will surely break if our HIV rates continue to increase.

I'm a fan of Adrian Fenty and I'm keeping an open mind. I hope to see some serious action on HIV/AIDS in the coming weeks.

Take Action: Call for a State of Emergency

A number of local HIV/AIDS advocates are calling on Mayor Elect Adrian Fenty to declare an HIV/AIDS State of Emergency in the District of Columbia. I have signed on and I encourage you to sign on as well. Both individuals as well as organizations can participate.

1. Read the Letter to Mayor Elect Adrian Fenty. The letter is available online at: http://www.fighthivindc.org/docs/fentyletter.doc.

2. Contact jenna@communityeducationgroup.org if you or your organization would like to sign on. Please include your full organizational name (or individual name) as you would like for it to be listed on the letter, as well as a contact person who is authorizing the sign-on.

3. Send an email to amfenty@hotmail.com to letting him know you support a State of Emergency. (cc:jenna@communityeducationgroup.org or tyoung@communityeducationgroup.org)

4. Print or write your version of the letter and make it available for others to sign on to at your agency, church, school, etc... Fax those signed letters to the Community Education Group at 202 543-9146 and they will make sure they get to the Mayor Elect.

4. Email a copy of this letter to your friends, colleagues, and neighbors asking them to also take action.

HIV/AIDS: Between Promises & Performance

The following commentary was written by Raymond Blank and was submitted to the Adrian Fenty Transition Blog. Be sure to share your thoughts on HIV/AIDS with Mayor Elect Fenty. Post your comments here.

Promises of action made by Mayor Williams more than a year ago to bolster the battle against HIV have not been realized. The fact remains that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District remains both disturbing and depressing. The rate of infection in Washington remains ten times the national rate. African American women are 90% of all infected female residents and many thousands of residents do not know their status. Blacks are 60% of the District’s population but represent more than 80% of AIDS cases and nearly 20,000 residents are living with HIV. Recent tests indicate that among the 16,700 persons tested, 580 tested positive, a new increase of nearly 4%. Dr. John Hogan of Unity Health Care recently observed that this deadly virus strikes where “lives of quiet desperation” are experienced.

The size of this epidemic, however, requires adequate scope of services to meet current and increasing demands. Despite the mayor’s promises, real progress still eludes the Administration for HIV Policies and Programs. This deadly health crisis is still growing while the city’s ability to combat this disease with effective prevention and treatment services have not increased accordingly.

The City Council last year appropriated a half-million dollars to establish HIV services in Ward 7 where no services are provided although it has the second highest rate of infection in the city. Today, there are still no services in that ward although a local consulting firm was hired to assist in developing new services. More distressing, nearly 25% of the Council’s award was spent illegally in other sectors of the city and for other purposes. Regretfully, adequate prevention and treatment services have not been expanded to residents most in need and who engaged in high-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex or shared needles.

A year ago, the Office of the Inspector General audited AHPP and found substantial deficits in its management practices especially related to grant awards to community service providers. This year, the IG’s Office conducted a similar audit and found no evidence of progress in the effective management of public resources. One organization secured a grant of a quarter of a million but the audit found no evidence of services provided to the public. AHPP personnel never once monitored the use of public funds awarded to the agency. Epidemiological data is still neither complete or easily available and the agency’s surveillance remains below standards of competence.

A major campaign, “Know Your Status,” was kicked off in June with the goal of testing 400,000 residents between 14 and 84 by December. HIV testing is an effective prevention practice endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control. More than $1.2 million dollars was budgeted to support this massive testing initiative that has achieved less than 5% of its campaign target. Two highly publicized testing events were held on Freedom Plaza at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. But less than 200 people submitted to the test in either event. No special testing events were organized east of the river area during where the majority of people infected live. Fortunately, nearly a third of all residents recently tested are inmates at the DC Jail. However, 6% or nearly 250 more people tested positive but community providers lack the capacity to absorb this increased cohort needing follow-up health services in the community once released from jail.

Perhaps the most important failure in the last year of the Williams Administration is the consistent absence of any adequate effort to really engage community residents regarding this health crisis that effects one of every 20 residents. A health challenge of this magnitude requires the involvement of citizens to also help to reverse alarming trends. Walter Smith, the president of the DC Appleseed, emphasized recently the necessity for a community dialogue to better alert and engage residents, to promote practices of prevention, distribute materials that foster harm reduction and circulate information on treatment services and locations. The absence of residents from such a dialogue prohibits collaborations by the city with its citizens, depresses a necessary synergy and diminishes the community’s capacity to contribute in combating HIV.

Last year, the DC Appleseed Report on HIV and AIDS in the District asserted that the city was 15 years behind the scope and quality of services and management necessary to meet this growing health challenge. No appreciable improvements have been attained lately while this disease continues to grow where people are most vulnerable and lack adequate and competent services. It’s time for the District to truly deliver on its promises.

Raymond S. Blanks is a member of the District’s Community HIV Planning Group.

Fenty HIV/AIDS "Plan"

I had hoped Mayor-elect Fenty would inject some much-needed new life into the District's failed HIV prevention efforts. However, after reviewing the Fenty pre-transition team's HIV/AIDS paper, those hopes are quickly fading. What is Fenty's bold new approach to combat the epidemic that is devastating our community? Another meeting. Yes, Team Fenty is proposing a 'summit' of AIDS 'leaders' in his first 90 days in office. Note to Fenty - Tony Williams did the same thing six years ago as his big response to AIDS. Just to remind you of the stunning turn around that resulted from that meeting, uh, well, there was none. Tragically, the Fenty "plan" seems to be repeating the same do-nothing approach that has resulted in DC's continued status as the US AIDS Capital. I scanned the pre-transition document several times looking for one particular word. Condoms. There was no mention of condoms or water-based lubricants and their lack of availability in DC. I realize that having jars of free condoms and lube in DC's bars, nightclubs, clinics, and social service agencies is a radical notion. Whoever thought that condoms could help prevent HIV transmission? Given the current estimates of rising HIV infection rates in the District, the radical notion of condom distribution is long overdue.

Adrian Fenty's Plan for Battling HIV in DC

Mayor Elect Adrian Fenty isn't wasting anytime in planning for his first term. Fenty has launched the website www.fentytransition.org, to prepare for his transition. The site includes policy papers on several of his priority issues as Mayor, and has an online forum for community input. You can read the HIV/AIDS Policy Paper, to learn more about Fenty's plans to Battle HIV in the District. I encourage you to check it out. Once you've read it, be sure to submit your comments here.

Race for Mayor: Adrian Fenty on HIV/AIDS

The following is an excerpt from the Responses of Adrian Fenty to GLAA 2006 Questionnaire for DC Mayoral Candidates

8. Will you ensure that the drive to make HIV testing routine among District residents includes funding for counseling and referrals to treatment facilities for those who test positive?

Yes. There is no more crucial issue in the health community than fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There are many steps we must take to do this and my administration will attack this epidemic on many fronts. I have released a major statement on what will be my program as Mayor to deal with the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia. It will include routine testing in accessible locations across the District and funding for the necessary counseling and referrals that those who test positive will need. It is one thing to test, but unless we go the second step to provide counseling and treatment we will not stem the tide of HIV/AIDS. I have committed to making this a major priority in my Administration and I will speak out at every occasion an every venue including to the faith community about this crisis in the District.

DC currently has the highest AIDS rate in the US. We have rates comparable to rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. With reported rate for AIDS in the District in 2002 of 162.4 per 100,000 compared to the 14.8per 100,000 in the US we are way behind in how we deal with this epidemic. And we don’t even know for sure about our rate of HIV because we have no reliable statistics on HIV infections despite six years of efforts by AHPP or its predecessor HAA.

It is only recently that the District has begun to treat HIV/AIDS as a serious problem. I support the work of Dr. Marsha Martin who is the current Director of AHPP for the tremendous steps she has taken in the short time she has lead this office.

My administration will continue to support GW University running the HIV epidemiological surveillance system for DC. And although I have always opposed using a names reporting system I believe we are now forced to use one because the Federal Government Ryan White reauthorization Act will require it and base allocation of funds on reported cases of both HIV and AIDS cases. Were we not to adopt this names reporting system DC could lose $5 million annually and with the epidemic proportions of HIV/AIDS in the District we can’t afford to lose any money that will help us deal with this health crisis. What I will insist on with this names reporting system is that we make doubly sure that we have stronger protections of privacy than we currently have and that the penalties for anyone breaching this privacy are strong enough to act as the deterrent they need to be.

I will instruct the Department of Health to review a sero-postive survey in parallel to the one recommended by the National Academy of Sciences ‘ Institute of Medicine Report which recommends that DCD create such a system to identify new HIV infections which will enable public health officials to track changes in the epidemic.

We will also review all our educational programs to see which ones are effective and which are not in our efforts to prevent new cases of HIV. We need to know what works and why if we are if we are ever to get a real handle on this epidemic. We need to provide the public with more information and this includes making information more accessible. That would include updating the AHPP website and make it more interactive. It should contain the most current information on HIV/AIDS and programs and services available to people in the District of Columbia. We also need to find ways to get this information out to members of our community who are not regularly on computers in ways in which they can access it.

My administration will continue the new testing program for HIV/AIDS. It will include testing in the DC Jail and investigating the legality and appropriateness of potentially moving HIV positive inmates into a separate ward. I believe that inmates need to be tested on admission and on departure to allow us to make sure that they enter programs that will work to prevent in jail transmission and serve them when they are back in the community.

I will look at what tests we require when we issue marriage licenses. The current mandated syphilis tests date back to pre- World War II days. We must look at the legality and efficacy of requiring tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

My administration will work with the DC Hospital Association and the Department of Health to look at potentially providing Post Exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV at all DC emergency rooms and urgent care centers and health clinics. We need to educate people know about PEP and that would include information being given in student health classes.

Clearly one of the proven ways to combat HIV/AIDS is to have strong needle exchange programs. I will continue to fight Congress on the annual budget rider preventing use of government funding for needle exchange. The organization set up in DC, Prevention Works, has been operating effectively for seven years but is clearly not enough to deal with this problem. My administration will immediately provide addition funds for needle exchange as soon as we can get the rider lifted.

Education, which is the number one priority of my administration, also includes educating the community about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. We will do this beginning with our children in school by supporting age appropriate sex education that is includes not just abstinence education but education about safe sex practices. We must begin to teach our children at an early age to accept and understand the diversity of our population, respect for each other, and how to live safe and healthy lives.

9. Are you committed to continuing and strengthening the District’s condom distribution program?

Yes. I believe that we must educate people that using condoms is really the only way to stop transmission of HIV when engaging in sex. I will support condom distribution programs and will work with organizations such as the Great American Condom Campaign to strengthen our education programs in the District. I will ask the Department of Health and AHPP to review all the programs that now exist in the District and to develop a comprehensive plan, which will make sure that we are reaching everyone with these education and distribution programs. We need only look at the Appleseed report to see that we have to do more than we have. While we had a goal of distributing 600,000 condoms in 2004 we only distributed 125,000 in 2005. The final plan needs to include distribution sites such as public health centers, nightclubs and bars, hospitals and even hair salons and barber shops.

10. The District is being forced by the federal government to switch from a unique identifier system to a names reporting system for people testing positive for HIV. Will you support legislation to strengthen our medical privacy laws, such as by creating a private right of action for those whose confidentiality is violated by District government employees or contractors?

Yes. I reluctantly support names reporting and will move to strengthen our laws on medical privacy to guarantee that there are severe penalties for anyone violating confidentiality. I will also support legislation the will give individuals whose rights may have been violated a private right of action.