Syringe Exchange

Bill Clinton said NOT lifting the federal funding ban on syringe exchange was one of the biggest regrets in his presidency. But he didn't fess up to that till he was safely out of the White House.

Barack Obama pledged to lift the ban. Then pointedly didn't publicly work to do so, even when his imprimatur could have given a much-needed margin of safety for congressional efforts.

But who really did work to lift the ban? People with HIV, drug users, harm reduction leaders and their allies. Long-time and brand new AIDS activists who took to the streets and the halls of Congress and the plaza of HHS and the UN for decades at this point, including those who got arrested in the Capitol Rotunda in one of the first acts of civil disobedience against the Obama Adminstration. Organizers and policy wonks who counted the votes and worked hand in hand with grassroots activists to persuade and convert legislators. Religous people who spoke up about what faith and redemption and compassion really means. AIDS service and prevention providers and drug treatment people and harm reduction counselors and people in recovery, and people in and out of recovery, who spoke up about their lives and their work.

And because of all this - not because of the political cowardice of those who knew they were doing the wrong thing by allowing the ban to persist but who time and again shrank in the face of ideological opposition - the ban will now be lifted.

This weekend, the Senate joined the House in approving the final 2010 appopriations bill that will lift the ban, without the deadly not-near-1000-feet-of-anything amendment that would have rendered it virtually meaningless.  read more »

Rachel Maddow called out Rep. James Ramstad (R-MN/3rd), who may be chosen as director of national drug control policy or "drug czar," for his opposition to syringe exchange programs and gave the CHAMP website for people to take action. Watch the video below.



Click here to tell Obama to choose a Drug Czar who will fight HIV/AIDS.

On Wednesday July 9th, CHAMP held a community forum entitled Latin@ Lives and the Next Generation of HIV Prevention: Policies, Politics and Research. The forum was moderated by Gina Arias of Housing Works and featured four captivating panelists: Dennis deLeon of Latino Commission on AIDS, Johnny Guaylupo of Housing Works, Camila Gelpi-Acosta of National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI), and Joyce Rivera of St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction. Following the four presentations, the panelists fielded many challenging questions from the audience.

Latino/Hispanic HIV/AIDS Federal Policy Recommendations  read more »

In what seems like a space-filler on a slow news day, the New York Times reported yesterday that HIV rates among gay men under the age of 30 are on the rise.

Why do I say it must have been a slow news day? This data was issued in a press release by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on September 11, 2007. The NYT story, which was the front page of yesterday's Metro section, appeared nearly three months later. In any case, here's the main info from the Times:

"The number of new H.I.V. infections in men under 30 who have sex with men has increased sharply in New York City in the last five years, particularly among blacks and Hispanics, even as AIDS deaths and overall H.I.V. infection rates in the city have steadily declined.

New figures from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show that the annual number of new infections among black and Hispanic men who have sex with men rose 34 percent between 2001 and 2006, and rose for all men under 30 who have sex with men by 32 percent."  read more »

Showing the “missing pieces” of HIV prevention puzzle in the United States, more than three hundred people poured into the downtown Atlanta streets for the PJM Unity Rally and March in Atlanta, GA, on Tuesday, December 4th, where the National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC) ended on Wednesday. People from across different communities marched to demonstrate unity for a comprehensive HIV prevention in the US, not to be divided by community or issue.

In order to draw conference attendees from the hotel to the opening rally two blocks away at Hardy Ivy Park, a group of carolers sang an HIV prevention song to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Other PJM folks were in the lobby, decorating marchers with the PJM sash—a white satin cloth with the red PJM Unity logo. Helping to sash people in the hotel was Miss Rhode Island 2007 Ashley Bickford, who was attending the conference as someone interested in HIV/AIDS issues.

The spirited marchers burst from the Hyatt onto Peachtree Street, blowing whistles and chanting, and made their way to Hardy Ivy Park to meet the crowd already assembled. The March MC Waheedah Shabbazz-el took the bullhorn and hyped the crowd to a frenzy, reminding the crowd, “HIV is more than a disease, It’s positive proof of injustice!” The marchers grabbed signs and flashlights from organizers and marshals, and the rally was in full swing.  read more »

"What do we want? EFFECTIVE PREVENTION! When do we want it? NOW!" shouted HIV/AIDS, women's rights, and faith-based advocates as they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to join a World AIDS Day rally at the White House.

On Friday, November 30, nearly 200 activists—including community members, students, and people living with HIV and AIDS—brought together local, domestic, and global demands for critical changes to U.S. HIV and AIDS policies. Those rallying called upon the government to cut the red tape on HIV and AIDS programs, with particular emphasis afforded to prevention programs at home and abroad.

The rally-goers, armed with posters and giant scissors with messages like "Sex Education Saves" and "Cut the Red Tape on U.S. Global HIV Prevention," weren't the only people making demands of the Administration. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.'s non-voting delegate in Congress, issued powerful words to President Bush as part of her address to the crowd.  read more »

A sharper approach to fighting AIDS
In today's Atlanta Journal Constitution!

By Sandra Thurman

Twenty years ago, as executive director of AID Atlanta, I would arrive at the office at the crack of dawn to find a cast of homeless intravenous drug users waiting at our door. Their faces and the countless more living with HIV I've met since still haunt my dreams. I often wonder if a clean needle could have saved their lives.  read more »

The latest issue of Solidarity Project, CHAMP'S monthly newsletter, focuses on "prevention justice," by profiling some of the nation's most compelling prevention justice work in action. Featured in this is are interviews with folks from:

• Georgia Prevention Justice Alliance
• New York State Black Gay Network
• The AFIYA Center
• Transforming Justice

There's also a good deal of resources, policy documents, and it's in English and Spanish! Dowload the English or Spanish.

You can also read the Solidarity Project at The Body.com.