SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPAIGN TO END AIDS MEDIA ADVISORY

SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPAIGN TO END AIDS MEDIA ADVISORY For immediate release: Monday, December 11, 2006 Contact: Karen Bates 803-750-5259,803-348-3102, scaplwa@aol.com DEMONSTRATION TUESDAY: GOVERNOR SANFORD MUST END THE DEADLY AIDS DRUG WAITING LIST TODAY; ACTIVISTS AND SUPPORTERS RALLY AT BCB WHEN: Tuesday, December 12 9 AM WHERE: Wade Hampton Office Building (front side)on State House grounds WHAT: SC-C2EA END THE ADAP WAIT DEMONSTRATION-Photo Opportunity On Tuesday morning, people living with HIV/AIDS and their supporters will rally in front of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s offices in Columbia to demand action from Governor Mark Sanford and the BCB to end the state waiting list for AIDS treatment. At least four South Carolinians have died in recent weeks while waiting for the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to pay for lifesaving medications. On Sunday the South Carolina Campaign to End AIDS (SC-C2EA) and supporters publicly invited Gov. Sanford to request an emergency infusion of $3 million into the ADAP program to end the waiting list. On Monday, thousands of concerned Americans called the Governor’s offices to urge him to act. So far, Governor Sanford has not responded publicly. The Governor and other members of the Budget and Control Board (BCB) can approve emergency ADAP funding at their scheduled meeting Tuesday morning at 10 am. Following their rally in front of the offices, advocates will attend the BCB meeting to deliver testimony on needless suffering and deaths that have resulted from the state’s failure to provide adequate funds. “We are literally dying here in South Carolina, waiting for our elected officials to pay for the drugs they know will save our lives,” said Stephanie Williams, an HIV-positive woman in Orangeburg, SC and Chair of SC-C2EA. “We’re in the same boat as people in Thailand and Haiti and Indiana and West Virginia, and we won’t stop until our state and federal officials take the steps to save lives now.” PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Demonstration at the Governor’s Offices will include crowds picketing with signs and statements by people living with HIV/AIDS, including some who are on the ADAP waiting list. South Carolina Campaign to End AIDS (www.c2ea.org/sc) is a statewide grassroots organization of people living with HIV/AIDS and our supporters. Utilizing the voice and experiences of persons living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, we are committed to improving the quality of life of individuals and families both infected and affected by the pandemic and to ending its effects on South Carolina. Co-sponsored by Acercamiento Hispano/Hispanic Outreach, ContraSIDA Program (Against AIDS Program) (www.schispanicoutreach.org), South Carolina Progressive Network (www.scpronet.com) and South Carolina Equality Coalition (www.scequality.org).