Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA)
Resolution on Puerto Rico HIV Emergency
October 16, 2007
WHEREAS Puerto Rico serves as one of the epicenters of HIV infections in the Western Hemisphere and in the Caribbean, and has the fifth-highest AIDS case rate of all states and territories.
WHEREAS, in 2003 the HIV death rate in Puerto Rico was 13.6; the second worse in the country.
WHEREAS, it has been reported that hundreds of Puerto Ricans living with HIV/AIDS continue to have significant unmet HIV care, treatment, and prevention health needs.
WHEREAS, in recent years, Puerto Rico and the City of San Juan have returned millions of dollars in unspent Ryan White Care Act funding.
WHEREAS, since nearly one-half of HIV infections in Puerto Rico are directly attributed to injection drug use, SAMHSA and CDC HIV/AIDS programs are critically important to people living with HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico and are needed to prevent additional infections, THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS recommends that the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services work closely with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its local jurisdictions to assist them in effectively utilizing HHS grant funds for HIV/AIDS care, treatment and prevention programs and to promote the financial integrity of the Ryan White Care Act programs.
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