National Minority AIDS Council Building Healthier Communities

NMAC starts 2000 with its largest budget to date. A successful CPLS meeting is held in Los Angeles, and NMAC expands its treatment program, overseeing the facilitation of an HIV Treatment Update training, in FL.

 

The most powerful USCA to date takes place in Atlanta, GA, featuring a special town hall meeting with famous civil rights leaders, including Joseph Lowry and Coretta Scott King. Ms. King later spoke at a conference plenary, addressing the needs of the African-American community and asserting that AIDS was not just a health problem; but a civil rights issue.

NMAC Executive Paul Kawata remembers Ms. King grabbing his hand and saying:

I want you to know that you are carrying on Martin's dream.

 

NMAC helps facilitate the North American AIDS Treatment Action Forum (NATAF) in Houston , TX. Geared to individuals interested in broadening their knowledge of HIV/AIDS treatment and care issues, as well as those interested in using this knowledge to advocate on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS, the goal of the meeting is simple:

 

Recognizing that underserved populations and communities of color continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, NATAF's mission is: to prolong the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS by educating and engaging individuals and inspiring the treatment education and advocacy community.

 

HIV Prevention Community Planning Leadership Meeting convenes in Los Angeles, CA.

 

NMAC, in partnership with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and The Balm in Gilead, holds Project Unity Community Planning and Leadership and Orientation Trainings (CPLOTs) on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs).

 

Executive Paul Kawata receives the National Award for his work in HIV/AIDS from the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center (APIWC). The organization's Executive Director, John Manzon-Santos, says:

For all of us, Paul exemplifies vision, tenacity, and survival.

 

Outside of NMAC, the WHO estimates between 15% and 20% of new HIV infections worldwide are the result of blood transfusions, where the donors were not screened or inadequately screened for HIV. AIDS is declared a threat to security by the United States and the UN. Meanwhile, G8 Leaders acknowledged the need for additional HIV/AIDS resources during their meeting in Okinawa, Japan.  

 

The International AIDS Conference convenes in Durban, South Africa.

 

UNAIDS, WHO and other global health groups announce joint initiative with five major pharmaceutical manufacturers to negotiate reduced prices for AIDS drugs in developing countries. In the US, Congress reauthorized the Ryan White CARE Act and passed the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000. The latter authorized up to $600 million for U.S. global efforts and included 8 Millennium Development Goals, one of which called for reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. President Clinton also created the first ever Presidential Envoy for AIDS Cooperation.

 

Research demonstrates that the spermicide Nonoxynol-9  --  once believed to have microbicidal properties -- actually helps facilitate HIV transmission.

 

The CDC forms the Global AIDS Program (GAP), and the US Department of Health and Human Services approves the first state 1115 Medicaid expansion waivers for low-income people with HIV in Maine, Massachusetts and District of Columbia; in 2001, Massachusetts becomes first state to enroll new clients.

 

Despite these efforts, the CDC reports that 800,000 and 900,000 U.S. residents are living with HIV infection, and about 40,000 become infected each year. The CDC estimates that men account for 70 percent of the new U.S. infections. Among men with HIV/AIDS, 60 percent of infections were among men who have sex with men. The CDC also estimates that about 50 percent of new male infections were among black men, 30 percent among white men and 20 percent among Hispanic men.

 

Among women, who accounted for 30 percent of new infections, the CDC estimated that 64 percent were black, 18 percent white, and 18 percent Hispanic.

 

In 2000, AIDS deaths are at their lowest since 1987, with 17,129 people succumbing to the disease, including activist and POZ columnist, Stephen Gendin (Click here to read In Memoriam: Stephen Gendin in the 2000 issue of Body Positive.)

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