House Democrats Defund Baby AIDS Prevention Initiative, While Providing Public Funding for Needle Exchange for Drug Addicts
July 17, 2007
Buried on page 99 of the House Appropriations Committee report that provides funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (Report 110-231) is one short sentence that could result in hundreds of babies becoming needlessly infected with HIV/AIDS. It read “The Committee does not provide a set aside within this funding for the early diagnosis grant program.”
The HIV Early Diagnosis Grant Program, also known as the “Baby AIDS” initiative, sets aside $30 million in federal assistance to support efforts prevent babies from becoming infected with the AIDS virus and to identify and treat pregnant women, infants and high risk individuals infected with HIV/AIDS.
“Baby AIDS” can be virtually eliminated if expectant mothers with HIV are identified and treated. When treatment is provided during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and to infants after birth, the risk of transmission from mother to child can be reduced to less than one percent. Without treatment, 25 percent of children born to mothers with HIV will become infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC estimates that hundreds of babies still become infected with HIV every year in the U.S. despite the fact that perinatal transmission is 99 percent preventable. CDC estimates that 65 percent of the children infected perinatally with HIV are African American.
And while the House Democrats have defunded this initiative to prevent baby AIDS, they have approved the use of public funds to pay for a needle distribution program for drug abusers in the nation’s Capital.
This certainly raises questions about Congress’ HIV prevention priorities and displays a lack of compassion for pregnant women and babies at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Additional information about baby AIDS is available at http://www.childrensaidsfund.org/resources/babyaids.pdf and http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=OversightAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=d31dce21-802a-23ad-4406-41aa2f5753bc
Senator Tom Coburn
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2254 Fax: 202-228-3796
|
|
