State HIV programs face cuts, CDC notes high prevalence in young African-Americans, gay men

NPR's Shots blog: "As states struggle with budget shortfalls, many are looking to trim costs by chopping health spending. And funding for HIV/AIDS programs has been a prime target. A proposed budget in South Carolina would eliminate funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and for help with buying drugs to treat the disease. 'South Carolina is thought to be the first state in the nation to propose the elimination of its entire HIV/AIDS budget,' the newspaper The State reported. Elsewhere, HIV/AIDS funding has been under pressure for a while. In California, which is facing one of the most severe budget shortfalls, the government cut $85 million from its HIV/AIDS programs last year" (Popovich, 3/25).

The Washington Post: "More than 14 percent of gay men in the District [of Columbia] are HIV positive, almost five times as high as the overall rate for the city's adults and teenagers, according to a snapshot of the community released Thursday by the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration. ... The study also shattered some stereotypes: Younger men generally had safer sex behaviors; men older than 30 were tested less frequently, used condoms less often and had more sex partners. ... The District was one of 21 jurisdictions to participate in the survey, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to learn more about behaviors that put people at risk for the disease (Marimow, 3/26).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that African-American youths "who make up only 14 percent of the U.S. population, account for half of all new HIV infections in the 13-29 age group. In an effort to get them talking about the epidemic both online and off and hopefully slow the spread of the deadly virus, the CDC earlier this month launched "i know," a social media initiative aimed at African-Americans ages 18 to 24" (Staples, 3/24).