1998-1999
1998
The Minority AIDS Initiative is created in response to
growing concern about the impact of HIV/AIDS on racial and ethnic minorities in
the United States.
It provides new funding to strengthen organizational capacity and expand
HIV-related services in minority communities. NMAC’s Director of Government
Relations and Public Policy, Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, helped write this
groundbreaking policy.
NMAC continues to respond to the needs of CBOs serving
communities of color, holding a successful USCA, Till Its Over, in Dallas, Texas and
facilitating the Community Planning Leadership Summit (CPLS) for
the CDC, in Saint Louis,
MO. It marked the first time CPLS
was held outside of Atlanta,
GA.
The Alliance
for Microbicide Development, a global non-governmental organization, is founded
to encourage the development of safe, affordable and effective microbicides to
prevent HIV/AIDS and other STDs.
The Supreme Court rules that HIV/AIDS is now covered by the
Americans with Disabilities Act, regardless of symptoms or lack of symptoms.
The agency convenes another meeting around AIDS and women of
color entitled, Empowerment II in Memphis,
TN.
HHS declares AIDS to be an ongoing and severe crisis among African-American and
Hispanic communities in the U.S.;
the Bush administration is asked to respond to the growing epidemic in
underserved areas.
The International AIDS Conference is held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998
authorizes payments of up to $1 million to those with blood-clotting disorders
who contracted HIV through infected blood products, between July 1, 1982 and
December 31, 1987.
1999
The marked decline in AIDS deaths creates a public
perception that AIDS is no longer a public health threat; fundraising becomes
difficult for many organizations. This, along with what some refer to as the changing face of AIDS, forces some agencies to change course or
close, while giving birth to others.
One affected organization is the Ryan White Foundation,
which moves under the auspices of the AIDS Action as the Ryan White Project.
Phil Wilson founds the African American AIDS Policy and Training Institute,
which later becomes the Black AIDS
Institute.
The CDC funds the Prevention for HIV Infected Persons
Projects (PHIPP), which targets prevention efforts to those living with HIV.
NMAC works with other organizations to produce HIV/AIDS
treatment awareness posters featuring former US Surgeon General, Jocelyn Elders;
television personality, Daisy Fuentes; and American figure skater, Rudy
Galindo.
USCA convenes in Denver, CO, and for the first time features an international
focus with four mayors from Africa in
attendance. Former US
surgeon generals, Antonia Novello and Jocelyn Elders, also speak.
The HIV Prevention Community Planning Leadership Meeting is
held in Pittsburgh, PA.
The agency releases a report called, A Strategy for HIV
Prevention and Access to Care among Women of Color, based on information
gleaned from its 1993-1997 meetings, Empowerment I and II.
The agency releases policy reports about the impact of HIV/AIDS
in different communities of color that were released collectively under the
title, The Power of Diversity.
From 1998-1999, AIDS diagnoses remained high, with 84,581
new cases identified. Deaths due to AIDS, by contrast, dropped significantly,
with 37,496 dying during the same time period. Notable persons who died of AIDS
during that time period: American figure skater, Robert Wagenhoffer. NMAC mourned the loss of AIDS activist Reggie Williams, who
helped found the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT).