City Funding For Needle-Exchange Programs In Washington, D.C., Provides District With New 'Weapon' Against HIV, Editorial Says

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 24 Dec 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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City funding for needle-exchange programs in Washington, D.C., will provide the district with a new "weapon" against HIV, a Washington Post editorial says. According to the editorial, the "obstruction" against city funding for needle-exchange programs likely will end with the passage this week of a $555 billion fiscal year 2008 omnibus spending bill (HR 2764) (Washington Post, 12/21).

The House on Wednesday voted 272-142 to pass the bill, which includes a measure that would lift a ban on funding for needle-exchange programs in the district. The district Department of Health has said it plans to allocate $1 million in city funds for needle-exchange programs once the funding ban is removed. The bill has been sent to President Bush, who is expected to sign the measure (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/20).

Mayor Adrian Fenty promised to "waste no time" in allocating funding for city needle-exchange programs once Bush signs the bill, the editorial says. "That it took this long" to lift the ban is a "travesty" because HIV/AIDS is "ravaging" the district, the editorial says. However, with "its new authority, the district has another weapon in its uphill battle against" HIV/AIDS, the editorial concludes (Washington Post, 12/21).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.