January 5, 2007
MARTIN OUT IN DC
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New mayor, new AIDS chief |
After a 16-month tenure in Washington, DC government as director of the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, Marsha Martin announced her departure from the agency in a brief e-mail to staff and community groups late Tuesday.
Her accomplishments include bringing greater visibility to the issue of HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia and implementing a testing campaign with the goal of having all Washingtonians know their HIV status.
Ms. Martin received mixed reviews from community leaders. According to the Washington Post, Donald Blanchon, executive director of Whitman-Walker Clinic, credits Martin with speaking publicly and acting visibly to raise awareness of AIDS. But A. Toni Young, co-chair of DC's HIV Prevention Community Planning Group faulted Martin for dealing inadequately with many of the community groups working directly with those infected with the virus.
Ms. Martin's departure comes on the heels of a bad report card from the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a public advocacy organization assessing the city's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic (for Martin's response to our article on the report click here) and a recent report that AHPP discovered 2,000 to 3,000 unexamined HIV and AIDS cases that had not been entered into the city's data base and had not been touched for more than a year.
And a report from Larry Bryant on the Fenty inauguration:
Throughout the pomp and circumstance of the DC Mayoral Inauguration and swearing in of six City Council members and a new Council Chair, there was the constant theme of 'One DC'.
The priorities on the docket: addressing the vast disparities in quality education and health care, public safety, and uniting diverse populations.
New Mayor Adrian Fenty (the only mayoral candidate or council member that attended last year's C2EA 'Days of Action Rally' in Anacostia Park) put HIV/AIDS squarely among the top priorities for his new administration along with education, healthcare, and public safety.
"If we are serious about DC becoming an international city... we have to insure that there is access to care, doctors, medicines... no matter where you live, who you are, or your income," the new Mayor said.
David Catania, councilmember (at-large) and chair of the Committee on Health, emphasized the need to address disparities in health education, major disease, dental care, and access to care by stating that the solution is "universal access to healthcare for all".