Dear Friends,

We recently brought our 16th annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards to our supporters in the Coachella Valley and beyond, who responded with inspirational generosity. The accounting is not yet final but the event is expected to gross well over $1 million – making a significant contribution to helping us meet our $11.2 million annual operating budget.

In addition to its value as a fundraiser, the Steve Chase gala helps us to continue raising awareness that AIDS is not over. The contribution of not only money but also time and talent from our dedicated donors, volunteers, and other supporters is what has enabled us to bring into care another 450 new patients over the last year, making our current client base more than 2,000.

Of course, bodies like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serve essential roles in providing care and helping to decrease the spread of HIV worldwide. Education and prevention is a particular concern in D.A.P.’s vast 27,000 square mile service area, where the average rate of HIV infection is several hundred percent that of the national average. That’s why D.A.P. remains committed to maintaining free and confidential HIV testing, even though the current California state budget removed the funding that made this possible.

We are grateful that the federal government recently reauthorized the Ryan White CARE Act for another four years, to assure a significant part of D.A.P.’s funding stream. We are also hopeful that recent activity in the Obama administration will result in the articulation of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Although the U.S. is among the hardest-hit by the HIV epidemic in the industrialized world, our government has never adopted a coordinated nationwide response, while both Canada and Mexico have national AIDS strategies. From last August through the end of 2009, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP,) under the direction of Jeffrey Crowley, began soliciting feedback from community partners across the country. The first of these community meetings was held in August in Atlanta and the last in Puerto Rico in December.  

ONAP has taken the data gathered to a federal interagency working group with subcommittees formed to concentrate on the three major goals that the National HIV/AIDS Strategy intends to address: 

1. Reduce the number of new HIV infections.
2. Increase access to care for people living with HIV and optimize health outcomes.
3. Reduce HIV-related disparities.

While it is encouraging that such nationwide meetings have been held, direct input from AIDS service organizations, like D.A.P., has yet to be solicited in the Strategy’s formulation. Even so, a total of 160 such organizations – Desert AIDS Project included – and 312 individuals endorsed care and treatment recommendations that they have asked to be included in the development of this National AIDS Strategy.  

While ONAP continues to develop its national response, it remains clear that swift action and additional resources are urgently needed. One of the most immediate of these concerns is the continuing prospect of a nationwide ADAP (AIDS Drugs Assistance Program) shortfall. Failure to take immediate action by the federal government will only hinder efforts to achieve its overall goals.

 Won’t you join with us to ensure that this first-ever National AIDS Strategy meets our highest standards? Please, sign up as a member of the Coalition. You will receive timely information about progress, calls to action, and opportunities to make your voice heard.

Until there’s a cure …