Friday, Jul. 25, 2008

South must take steps to overcome HIV/AIDS

A NEW REPORT that once again confirms that more people in the South — including South Carolina — die from AIDS than anywhere else in the country should serve as a call to action.

While many rightfully call on state and federal officials to provide more funding to pay for drugs, education and other resources to deal with this public health crisis, the epidemic won’t be overcome by government funding and influence alone.

Communities, churches and individuals must help defeat this disease. People who engage in high-risk activities, including unprotected sex and intravenous drug use, must not only get tested, but change their behavior. It’s also important for communities to combat the stigma attached to the disease so more people will feel free to seek help.

The report, “Southern States Manifesto Update 2008: HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the South,” was released by the nonprofit Southern AIDS Coalition. According to the report, while AIDS deaths declined or remained steady in other parts of the country from 2001 to 2005, the number went up almost 14 percent in the South. (Deaths in the South decreased in 2006.) Also, the South accounted for half of all U.S. AIDS deaths in 2005, and more than half of persons living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in 2006. In addition, nine of the 15 states with the highest new HIV diagnosis rates were Southern.

Although drugs have been developed that help people with HIV live longer, more productive lives, and lots of knowledge has been gained over the more than 25 years since the disease was identified, AIDS is an even more serious health threat today. It exacts a particularly high toll on the South because of high rates of poverty, unemployment and a lack of insurance. To help, the AIDS coalition advocates for more funding for prevention, testing, improving health care and addressing homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse.

South Carolina has an enormous HIV and AIDS problem. It regularly ranks in the top 10 among states in its infectious rate per capita. But S.C. lawmakers, who in the past failed to grasp the problem, are beginning to understand the need to fight the spread of the disease. Over the past two years, the General Assembly increased annual funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program from $500,000 to more than $5 million.

While lawmakers in South Carolina and across the South must continue to provide funding and support, the ultimate defeat of HIV/AIDS rests with their constituents, who must decide that enough is enough and that they will no longer sit idle and watch as this killer disease cuts down family and neighbors.

People in every community — regardless of age, gender, race or socio-economic status — must do their part, whether it’s getting tested or helping educate others, if this disease is to be brought to heel.

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