Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Editorials Published on World AIDS Day

Several newspapers and news magazines recently published editorials about HIV/AIDS in light of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Summaries of some of the pieces appear below.

• Billings Gazette: HIV/AIDS is "less and less on the minds of Americans" who are "burden[ed]" with "other worries," a Gazette editorial says. However, the number of HIV/AIDS cases continues to increase in the country, and the disease "still threatens us individually and as a nation," the editorials says, concluding, "The United States must keep its promise to fight AIDS worldwide with dollars for prevention, treatment and research" (Billings Gazette, 11/30).
  
  
• Boston Globe: Individuals wishing to contribute to the fight against the "ongoing disaster" of the HIV/AIDS pandemic can do so by participating in trials for the development of an HIV vaccine, which is "the Holy Grail of infectious disease scientists," a Globe editorial says. Although volunteers receive "modest" financial compensation for participating, "[t]heir real compensation is knowing that they helped in a small but important way to fight this scourge," the editorial says (Boston Globe, 12/1).
  
  
• BusinessWeek: Declining HIV prevalence rates in Kenya, Zimbabwe and some Caribbean nations indicate that "the worldwide push to raise awareness is having an impact on transmission," a BusinessWeek editorial says, adding that increased educational efforts about prevention "means ultimately there will be fewer people who require costly care." With so few people outside rich countries able to access antiretroviral drugs, "prevention is still the best medicine," the editorial concludes (BusinessWeek, 12/5).
  
  
• Chicago Sun-Times: "The Bush administration policy of tying a portion of HIV/AIDS funding to abstinence programs and refusing to support needle-exchange programs is a travesty," the Sun-Times editorial says, adding that funding to "preserve the health of people in need must not be tied to moral issues." The editorial concludes, "All it takes is will on the part of governments" to fight "this insidious and protracted war" on HIV/AIDS (Chicago Sun-Times, 12/1).
  
  
• Columbia State: Despite advancements in antiretroviral drug treatment that allow HIV-positive people to live longer, U.S. residents "must not get careless or complacent," a State editorial says. It is "inexcusable" for the HIV prevalence rate to be as high as it is, and "[w]e must take the necessary steps -- including changing risky behavior -- to reverse the negative statistics associated with this preventable disease," the State concludes (Columbia State, 12/1).
  
  
• Daytona Beach News-Journal: The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief "hasn't come close" to fulfilling its goals and "falls short in the most crucial area -- prevention," according to a News-Journal editorial. The Bush administration's insistence that PEPFAR recipients "promote abstinence over contraception" and oppose sex work "ignores the harsh reality of life in many impoverished nations," the editorial says. It concludes, "It's too late to save the lives already lost, but it's not too late to get the U.S. AIDS-fighting program back on track" (Daytona Beach News-Journal, 12/1).
  
  
• Economist: Although the issue of treatment for HIV/AIDS often is in the spotlight, "prevention matters too," an Economist editorial says. Prevention requires better education about the disease, widespread condom use and allowing women to make decisions about sex, according to the editorial. People can be "optimistic" about one aspect of the disease, which is that it is "spread by human behavior, and human behavior can be altered," the Economist concludes (Economist, 11/30).
  
  
• Houston Chronicle: Although HIV/AIDS is viewed in rich countries as "a problem for someone else's demographic" that can be "easily controlled with drugs," the "scourge" is "by no means rare in the United States," according to a Chronicle editorial. Congress should reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, which expired in September, the editorial says, adding that the world should do more to provide antiretrovirals to children in developing countries (Houston Chronicle, 11/30).
  
  
• Los Angeles Times: "On paper" the U.S. is the "leader in the global fight against AIDS," but "what looks good on paper can sometimes be pretty ugly on the ground," a Times editorial says. The Bush administration's policy requiring international groups receiving U.S. funds to fight HIV/AIDS to pledge opposition to commercial sex work and sex trafficking "hamper[s]" the struggle against the disease, the Times says, adding that the administration also places "far too high a priority" on programs promoting abstinence. Although President Bush "should be commended for playing a leadership role on AIDS, ... his fondness for bilateral initiatives ... results in the United States being less effective than it could be," the Times concludes (Los Angeles Times, 12/1).
  
  
• Miami Herald: Although the international community and individual countries do much to defeat HIV/AIDS, "more needs to be invested," according to a Herald editorial. The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria needs more than $3 billion in 2006, and Bush has proposed a U.S. contribution of $300 million, which is not even one-third of the share advocates say the U.S. should give based on its income, the editorial says. Congress should approve $550 million and add supplemental emergency funding to "help contain the global AIDS threat," the editorial concludes (Miami Herald, 12/1).
  
  
• New York Times: "The AIDS story this year is mostly one of failure," a Times editorial says. Although some rich countries have increased funding for HIV/AIDS, the "increases are not keeping up with the disease, and funds aren't being spent effectively," according to the Times. There also is a "failure of poor nations to muster the political will" to address the disease, the Times says, concluding, "All around, it's a failure of leadership" (New York Times, 12/1).
  
  
• San Diego Union-Tribune: There is some "good news" about the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including increasing efficacy of treatment and prevention programs and decreasing prevalence rates among some populations, a Union-Tribune editorial says. However, prevalence rates are increasing in some countries, there is limited access to prevention programs and the Global Fund is facing funding shortfalls, the editorial says, concluding that there is a "moral imperative" for the U.S. to meet its financial commitments (San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/1).
  
  
• San Francisco Chronicle: Although "much progress has been made" against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S., the "disease is still taking a truly depressing toll worldwide," a Chronicle editorial says. The international community must do more to provide adequate funding to fight the disease and increase access to prevention programs among certain populations because "AIDS is still a sufficiently deadly scourge that demands our attention 365 days a year," the editorial concludes (San Francisco Chronicle, 12/1).
  
  
• Sacramento Bee: The "deadly scourge" of HIV/AIDS "has become a backdrop of humanity's challenges," but it is "far from being under control," in part because funds needed "to meet declared goals are falling well short of the mark," a Bee editorial says. World leaders must make better use of the "bully pulpit" to rally support to fight the pandemic, the Bee says, adding, "Most human beings are not uncaring, but in a world beset with multiple crises, there is no substitute for leadership" (Sacramento Bee, 12/1).
  
  
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Bush has spoken "well and repeatedly" on the issue of HIV/AIDS, but the U.S. and other "rich countries still need to do more, just so that the pace of progress through the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria can be maintained or quickened," a Post-Intelligencer editorial says. "Paralleling the international picture, too little federal money goes to prevention in this country with too many strings," the editorial says (Seattle Post¬-Intelligencer, 12/1).