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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 1, 2010 | MEDIA CONTACT:  Johnathon Briggs, 312-334-0922

The White House budget proposal unveiled Feb. 1 will result in further reductions in HIV prevention and care services across the U.S. with scarcely any help from the federal government, AIDS advocates warn.

“Even with the nominal HIV funding increases proposed by the Obama Administration, fewer HIV prevention and care services will be provided across the country because of disastrous state budget cuts, which will only widen the gap in unmet need,” said David Ernesto Munar, AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) vice president.

Are you confused by the politics and provisions of national health care reform? If so, you’re not alone. Passage of national health care reform would be historic, promising dramatic changes in the ways people with HIV/AIDS gain access to and afford their health care.

This week, 34 national leaders in HIV programming and policy sent a letter to President Obama with recommendations for core points essential to creating a Strategy that will advance our nation’s HIV prevention response and lead to lower HIV incidence rates.

WASHINGTON, December 13, 2009 – The Senate, in a 57 – 35 vote on a six bill appropriations “minibus,” agreed to end the ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange.  Additionally they agreed to allow Washington D.C.

Remarks by Gregg Gonsalves of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition delivered at the symposium on HIV Scale-Up and Global Health Systems hosted by Columbia University’s International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs

NEW YORK (December 1)--For those of you who know me, I am about to say something shocking. I miss George W. Bush.  Well, not really. He was a terrible President in so many ways.  However, he was exceptional in one.  The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, despite its flaws, saved millions of lives around the world.

WASHINGTON (Dec 1)—For World AIDS Day, the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy calls on President Barack Obama to publicly repudiate HIV-related stigma by welcoming community leaders living with HIV/AIDS to a White House summit on efforts to achieve his domestic HIV/AIDS agenda.  

AIDS Marathoner Ryan Singleton spoke at AFC's annual meeting about running for a cause.  AFC unveiled its new endurance training program, Train to End AIDS, as part of the ceremony commemorating participants of its training program. Read Ryan's remarks below:

AFC Vice President Laurie Wettstead rallies protesters in support of comprehensive health reform that benefits everyone, including non-profit employees whose coverage is put in jeopardy by Big Insurance profits.  See the video here.

The Latino Commission on AIDS invites anyone involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS to participate in an English and Spanish language National Conference Call to ensure Latino voices are included in the development of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy led by the Office of National AIDS Policy of the White House.

August 28, 2009 -- Minorities in Chicago were at least four times more likely to be hospitalized for swine flu infections than whites, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.