Prevention Efforts, Funding Must Increase in Mid-Size Cities, Rural Areas Despite Rising Costs, Editorial Says
Although the HIV/AIDS prevention "mantra ... probably sounds like a broken record to many people today," the health care community must "keep up" its education and prevention efforts because "it's a mantra that bears repeating," a Winston-Salem Journal editorial says. Many U.S. citizens "continue to ignore" the changing "profile" of HIV-positive people in the country, the increasing HIV prevalence and the "steadily rising cost" of the disease on society, the editorial says. More local and federal money is needed for HIV/AIDS groups in mid-sized cities and rural areas because HIV/AIDS is increasingly moving "from gay white men in big cities to poor minorities in rural areas, although more federal funding for HIV continues to go to large cities," according to the editorial. The costs of fighting the disease are "rising" and "daunting," but the "money must be spent" because "[i]t would be neither right nor practical for society to turn its back on people living with HIV," the editorial says (Winston-Salem Journal, 2/10).
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.