AIDS/Healthcare March at Dem Debate in Philly Tonight

At the Democratic Debate in Philadelphia, AIDS and Healthcare Activists declare “Dead People Don’t Vote”, call for AIDS plans from ALL Democratic Candidates

Update Oct. 26, 2007, 7:30pm: In response to pressure from activists, Senator Hillary Clinton has signed a pledge to commit $50 billion over 5 years to global AIDS funding. Members of ACT UP Philadelphia and allies continue to call for Clinton to release a comprehensive plan to fight AIDS at home and abroad, and support for guaranteed healthcare for all.

March Details: October 30th, Begin at 34th and Chestnut, 7:30pm

PHILADELPHIA- Hundreds of protesters from Philadelphia, New York and other areas participated in a Halloween-themed march outside today’s presidential debate, calling on all candidates to support guaranteed healthcare for all, $50 billion for global AIDS, and funding for accurate HIV prevention. They also called for renewed action to address the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS in communities of color. The march was sponsored by ACT UP Philadelphia.

The protest aimed criticism specifically at Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and called for her to end her silence regarding a strategy for combating AIDS domestically and globally. On Friday evening, in response to activists’ call for a plan to fight AIDS, Clinton signed a pledge to commit $50 billion by 2013 to fight global AIDS. While activists praised her commitment to global AIDS, they remain unsatisfied by her lack of commitments to domestic AIDS funding and programs. “Senator Clinton continues to lack any detailed plan to address the AIDS crisis in the US, which is disproportionately affecting communities of color. She is relying on support from African-Americans and women, but she should not be taking our vote for granted. When will she start talking about issues we care about, like guaranteed healthcare and an end to racial disparities in HIV,” said Waheedah Shabazz-El, an African-American woman and openly HIV-positive member of ACT UP Philadelphia. “We need to see a plan from Clinton that lays out exactly what she’s going to do to address the HIV/AIDS crisis at home.”

Senator John Edwards has laid out a detailed plan to fight AIDS at home and abroad, winning praise from health experts. Governor Bill Richardson has signed a pledge committing to $50 billion over 5 years for global AIDS, and he has responded to a questionnaire from AIDSVOTE.ORG. Senator Barack Obama recently published a fact sheet on AIDS policy, yet he fails to promise the same level of funding as Clinton, Edwards and Richardson.

“Senator Clinton remains woefully silent on her plan to fight AIDS in the US, and she has equivocated on the critical issue of evidence-based HIV prevention to meet the needs of injecting drug users,” said ACT UP member Hannah Zellman. “We are calling on Senator Clinton to use her time in Philadelphia, a city hard-hit by the AIDS epidemic, to detail her plan to fight AIDS at home.”

“While Obama, Edwards and Richardson have all released comprehensive plans to fight AIDS in the US, Senator Clinton seems afraid to take political risks which she thinks could shake her treasured front-runner position. But we are talking about people’s lives here. The other leading Democratic candidates have responded to our call for a detailed plan to fight AIDS, and we expect her to do the same,” said ACT UP member Jose Demarco.

“Despite her self-proclaimed stance as ‘a champion for women,’ Clinton has failed to come out as a strong advocate in the campaign on women's issues in relation to HIV/AIDS. Her health care platform lacks any reference to HIV, much less a plan to stop the growing epidemic amongst women,” commented Shabazz-El.

The diverse crowd of 600 demonstrators included people living with HIV, people from AIDS-affected communities, people of faith, students and concerned community. Marchers donned zombie and skeleton costumes to represent the people who will not be able to vote for the candidate of their choice if he or she does not support their demands and call attention to the mounting AIDS death toll: 3 million people worldwide died from AIDS in 2006.

The activists laid out four main demands:

1. Guaranteed healthcare for all- according to the demonstrators, no candidate has a plan to fight AIDS that makes healthcare entirely affordable and accessible. “Unnecessary co-pays will continue to limit peoples’ ability to access care. Currently, half of all HIV+ people in the US do not have consistent, reliable access to care and treatment. Unless we eliminate co-pays and guarantee care for everyone, we will never address this disparity,” said ACT UP member Jose Demarco.

2. $50 billion over 5 years to fight global AIDS- there are approximately 40 million people living with HIV. Despite dramatic declines in the cost of medicine in the past decade, most people in the developing world still lack access to life-saving treatment and basic prevention reaches a fraction of those in need. The demonstrators called for the US to increase funding for the US global AIDS initiative to $50 billion over 5 years, and commit to treating 1/3 of those in clinical need. “With medication costing less than $100 per patient per year, there is no reason the US should be unable to keep up its leadership in this area,” continued Demarco.

3. Accurate HIV prevention- demonstrators argue that abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education funding, which has been championed under the Bush administration, is ineffective and unproven. They also cite President Clinton’s health secretary, Donna Shalala, who released a report in 1998 that showed funding for syringe-exchange programs does not increase drug use but lowers HIV incidence. “When will we get a president who will commit to honest, evidence-based HIV prevention funding at home and abroad?,” asked Demarco.

4. Address health disparities in communities of color- People of color represent 25% of the population, but make up 70% of new HIV infections. Deaths among whites have decreased 19% from 2000 to 2004, while deaths among African-Americans have only gone down 7%. 86% of the babies born with HIV were African-American or Latino. “We need to create a national plan that addresses these racial disparities,” added Demarco.

ACT UP Philadelphia is an activist organization led by and for people living with AIDS. Since 1988, ACT UP has been a preeminent grassroots activist group, calling for funding for effective prevention, treatment, and care services for people living with and at risk for HIV. Next year, ACT UP Philadelphia will commemorate 20 years of campaigns and successes in the fight to end AIDS in the US and around the world.