Hilary Shelton: Reject the 1,000-Foot Rule

Dec 3rd, 2009 9:29 AM UTC
By Hilary Shelton

This post comes to us from Hilary Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau / Vice President for Advocacy:

HIV / AIDS has affected all of us. Being a child in the 60’s and 70’s, I often liken the struggle against HIV /AIDS to the Vietnam War: For almost everyone in my generation, we all knew and probably loved someone who served or tragically lost their lives serving our Nation in Southeast Asia. Likewise, today almost everyone, regardless of where they live or what race or ethnicity they might be, knows at least one person who is struggling with or who has lost their battle with AIDS.

To honor those who have fought or are fighting HIV / AIDS firsthand, we must each do all we can to stop the spread of AIDS, and work towards its eradication. On a personal level, we should be mindful of our behavior and we should get tested. On a larger scale, we should urge all of the governments on the globe, including governments in the Americas, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, and others to fully use every armament in their arsenal to aggressively fight the battle against the spread of HIV / AIDS and support research to find a cure. Whether it is condom distribution, urging companies to provide free or low-price medicines to those already infected, provide basic education to their population, or the full funding of syringe exchange programs, governments must do more for their people.

Here in the United States, for more than two decades, our country has been fighting the AIDS epidemic with one hand tied behind our back. Finally, in an effort to dramatically improve our government’s response to the HIV / AIDS epidemic, Congress may lift the ban on federal funding for Syringe Exchange Programs, (SEPs). Sadly, it may also impose near-draconian limitations on SEPs that will defeat many of the gains made by the repeal.

The “1,000-foot rule” puts ideology ahead of science and limits local authorities’ ability to create “common sense” effective programs. The CDC, the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization concur that needle-exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing illegal drug use.

The NAACP is calling on Members of Congress to lift the federal ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange programs and not to impose the unworkable and short-sighted “1000-foot rule”.

As an organization dedicated to social justice and equity, the NAACP is very concerned that HIV/AIDS continues to be a serious health challenge, particularly among African Americans. Although we comprise 12.7% of the U.S. population African Americans are 45% of the 56,300 people who are newly infected with HIV each year, 50% of those living with AIDS and 50% of those who die from AIDS each year. Injection drug use is one of the most common methods of HIV transmission among both Black men and women. Cumulatively, up to 40% of reported AIDS cases among Black males and 47% of reported AIDS cases among Black females are attributed directly to injection drug use or having sex with a partner who is an injection drug user.

If this country is serious about ending the AIDS epidemic, we must use all of the tools available to us. Syringe exchange works, but not with the newly proposed restrictions.

Congress must provide local officials the resources to address their HIV epidemics, strike the ban on federal funding and reject the 1,000-foot rule. We can and must do better.

TAGS: From Our Partners, NAACP, ONE, World AIDS Day, World AIDS Day 2009