November 20, 2005
Examiner Editorial

HIV and AIDS are believed to be more prevalent in the District than in any other city in the nation, with the percentage of those infected more than 10 times the national average.

It's tragic enough that so many people are suffering from an incurable disease. What's worse is that the slothfulness and incompetence of the D.C. government continues to exacerbate this epidemic through insufficient and inefficient funding, incomplete data collection and ineffective prevention measures.

In a recent report by the D.C. Appleseed Center on HIV and AIDS in Washington, a high ranking official in the District government claims that the nation's capital is potentially 10 to 15 years behind where it should be in its efforts to battle the disease. It's one thing for the District to have a poorly run, ineffective school system - it's quite another to have a poorly run, ineffective system for treating and preventing a fatal disease. The District lacks accurate, comprehensive data about HIV in the District, thus making it difficult to assess its scope.

So what can the District do?

Unfortunately, there are numerous roadblocks in its way. The task of providing care for all those infected with HIV is overwhelming, and caring for someone with HIV is enormously expensive (and a bill that the government will not be able to sustain). Drug regimens alone can run upward of $2,000 per month, per person and this doesn't take into account other treatment costs such as health care facilities and counseling.

And, while there are currently 27 drugs that can be used to treat HIV, the virus can develop a resistance to the drug when it is exposed to less-than-adequate doses of medicine.

Despite these difficulties, the District can still do more than it currently is and the best approach is a multifaceted one.

1. The government should step up its efforts to collect accurate data on the demographics most affected by HIV and how these infections are acquired. This information can be gathered by increasing access to HIV testing as well as releasing the data that has already been collected (according to the D.C. Appleseed report, this has not been done). Such information would make it possible to effectively target resources to areas that need them most.

2. The government should work to increase coordination among the agencies dedicated to HIV/AIDS treatment so that resources are used quickly, efficiently and effectively.

3. Since the most common means of HIV transmission in the District are via sexual contact or intravenous drug use, the District should continue efforts to provide citizens with healthy and safe ways to protect against both.

4. The District should not leave out a crucial component in stamping out AIDS: prevention. An education program that teaches residents about the disease, including how it is transmitted and how that can be avoided, is crucial. The more people know about the disease, the more likely they will be to protect themselves against it.

The District government needs to get its act together. But citizens also need to get educated, get tested and do their part to prevent the spread of HIV. Every case of HIV that is prevented means more resources available for those who already need treatment.

Lives are at stake.