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May 2, 2008
PROTESTING PUERTO RICO'S CRISIS
AIDS scandal grows
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Activists smile after charges dismissed |
After almost six months and three court appearances, charges against twelve AIDS activistS who blocked traffic in Manhattan to demand federal intervention in Puerto Rico's AIDS crisis have been dismissed. In November the "Broadway 12" lay down on Broadway in lower Manhattan near the Health Resources and Services Administration's New York offices, snarling traffic for almost an hour. On Wednesday, when police officers neglected to show up to in New York Criminal Court, a judge said the group was free to go.
The activists say they are ready to get arrested again to force HRSA to take control of Puerto Rico's Ryan White funds. The mismanagement and fraud of these dollars has gone on for years while people living with HIV/AIDS are denied access to treatment and prevention. This week more information surfaced regarding the commonwealth's AIDS chaos. Puerto Rico's Office of the Controller revealed that it has no record of a Pharmaceutical Benefits Manager (PBM) that was ostensibly managing $78 million in AIDS Drug Assistance Program funds...
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NO PRIDE AGENDA WITHOUT GENDA
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What do we want? GENDA! |
The chilly weather in Albany didn't stop more than 1,000 LGBT people their allies from attending the Empire State Pride Agenda’s Equality and Justice Day Tuesday for a whirlwind of rallies, workshops and lobbying. The activists were in the state capitol to demand passage of the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act (A.6584/S.3753), the Marriage and Same Sex Couples in New York Act (A.8590/S.5884), and the Dignity for All Students Act (A.3496/S.1571).
GENDA—the only one of the three bills that has yet to pass in the Assembly—would protect all people on the basis of gender identity from discrimination in health care, housing employment and public accommodations. The legislation has more than 70 sponsors in the Assembly, but Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has blocked it from coming to the floor for a vote. On Wednesday the Assembly Government Operations committee votes 7-2 in support of the bill. The only dissenters were Assemblymen Jack Quinn and Joseph Saladino. Saladino argued he doesn’t want children in his district to have a "transsexual teacher" and that "our society isn’t ready for that." Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples responded, "It's a shame we have to be debating human rights here. I don't understand why it needs discussion." The bill is now heading to the Codes Committee...
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PLANNING TO END AIDS
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Janet Johnson (left) introduced Waters at the AIDS At Home rally |
At AIDSWatch's "AIDS At Home" rally on Tuesday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) called for a national AIDS strategy to stem the tide of the epidemic in the U.S. The U.S. requires all countries receiving millions from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funds to create a national strategy for fighting AIDS, but here at home there are only piecemeal efforts to fight the disease.
"America can—and must—do more to fight this disease and to help those who are living with HIV/AIDS. I agree with those gathered here that we need a comprehensive national strategy to end this epidemic and to address the needs of everyone in America who is affected," Waters said. The rally was sponsored by the National Association of People with AIDS and the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA). Other speakers included Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI), POZ editor-in-chief Regan Hoffman, NAPWA executive director Frank Oldham, and C2EA members Greg Fordham and Chakena Conway...
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LESS MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS
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HASA clients are ending up at the back of the rental line |
AIDS housing providers are demanding that the city level the affordable-housing playing field for poor people living with AIDS. This week, advocates sent a letter to the New York City Human Resources Administration (NYCHRA) and the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) asking for a long-overdue rate increase for HASA scatter site housing. Because HASA reimburses landlords at woefully outdated rates, HASA clients are losing out to tenants eligible for Section 8 housing.
"HASA's payment standards are now grossly outdated, and their declining value has become a major impediment to securing adequate housing for clients seeking private market apartments," read a letter sent Monday to NYCHRA Commissioner Robert Doar and HASA Deputy Commissioner Matthew Brune and signed by housing providers including the African Services Committee, Gay Men's Health Crisis, Harlem United, Housing Works and the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN). The Scattersite II Coalition sent a separate letter to HRA/HASA Director of Housing John Ruscillo also asking for a rate increase...
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LONG ISLAND GETS WHAT IT DESERVES
in AIDS funds
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HHS Secretary Leavitt owes Long Island some moola |
In a victory for people living with AIDS in Long Island, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should not have denied Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA) status to Long Island during the 2006 reauthorization of Ryan White funds. While a lower court will have to decide the specifics, Nassau and Suffolk Counties stand to recover at least part of the $1.6 million that was lost when the jurisdiction was downgraded to a Transitional Grant Area from an EMA.
According to the 2006 reauthorization, to qualify as an EMA, there are two requirements: 1) have more than 2,000 new AIDS cases during the five year period leading up to 2005 and 2) have a cumulative total of 3,000 or more living AIDS cases during that period. During the reauthorization HHS decided that because Long Island no longer meets the first requirement, with only 1,505 new cases in the relevant five year period, it no longer qualified as an EMA. However, Long Island still fits the second requirement...
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SAY NO TO THAILAND'S DRUG WAR
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A 2006 Thai protest fighting drug laws |
Back in 2003, the Thai government launched a massive war on drugs, leading to the extrajudicial killing of thousands of Thai drug users. Suspects were beaten, tortured and forced to confess to false accusations. Many drug users were and continue to be systematically denied access to medical care, including HIV medications. It's estimated that half of people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand are IV drug users.
Now, it seems the Thai government is renewing its terrifying assault on drug users. According to the Thai Network of People Living with AIDS and the Thai AIDS Treatment Group (TTAG), the Prime Minister of Thailand, Samak Sundaravej, announced last month that the police would have special powers to track down drug users in order to reduce the demand for drugs. The interior minister of Thailand was quoted as saying "for drug dealers, if they do not want to die, they had better quit staying on that road. Drugs suppression in my time as interior minister will follow the approach of [former Thai Prime Minister] Thaksin. If that will lead to 3,000 to 4,000 deaths of those who break the law, then so be it. That has to be done." (For more on the situation in Thailand click here.)...
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