AIDS Healthcare Foundation:
“We urge state lawmakers to restore the funding for the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program, as the proposed cuts will have severe and catastrophic consequences if enacted”
A coalition of hundreds of AIDS activists, patients, medical care providers and concerned citizens of all backgrounds are expected to gather tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17th at 12:30 pm on the north side of the South Carolina State House for a rally to reinstate all $5.9 million in HIV/AIDS funding. Earlier this month, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted to cut all such funding from the state budget, becoming the first state in the nation to propose the elimination of its entire HIV/AIDS budget. The proposed cuts primarily affect the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) budget—a government program that pays for lifesaving AIDS drugs for the state’s poorest residents—and the state’s HIV/AIDS prevention budget (for PROJECT FAITH, Fostering AIDS Initiatives That Heal). The proposed elimination of state funding places urgently-needed matching federal funds in jeopardy as well.
During the rally, the coalition, led by the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force, will urge state lawmakers to restore the crucial funds upon which thousands of South Carolinians depend for lifesaving HIV/AIDS medications. According to the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force, there are more than 14,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the state. Approximately 3,000 people rely on government funds for their medications.
“We urge state lawmakers to restore the funding for the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program, as the proposed cuts will have severe and catastrophic consequences if enacted,” said Dr. Bambi Gaddist, Chair, South Carolina HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force. “This is truly a matter of life or death for the thousands of people who depend upon the state to provide the lifesaving medications that enable them to lead healthy, productive lives. HIV medications can also reduce the level of infectiousness and prevent transmission of HIV from one person to another. So, this funding is also needed to help prevent the further spread of AIDS in South Carolina.”
Added Dr. Gaddist. “Although we understand that an amendment has been submitted to restore $2.2 million of the original allocation of $5.9 million, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program is receiving one hundred new applications each month. If the legislature fails to fully restore funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and ADAP back in the budget, we fear that South Carolina is looking at an even greater crisis than the one in 2006 which led to four tragic deaths.”