June 2005

Committee CDC Site Visit

by The Reverend Trudie Smither

What are the current trends in HIV/AIDS in the United States? What impact, if any, is President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative having on the HIV/AIDS strategy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? To get answers to these questions, on Thursday, April 14, the Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church visited the CDC in Atlanta. The group was composed of Matt Hartney, chair, the Rev. Billy J. Alford, Executive Council representative Sherry Denton, Bruce Garner, Chris Haley-Walden, the Rt. Rev. Rodney Michel, the Rev. Carlos Sandoval, M.D., and the Rev.Trudie Smither.
The presentation by the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention began with a report by Charles Oke, VMD, MPH, on “Trends in the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States, 1985-2003.” Through 2003, he said, there have been 892,875 cases in adults and adolescents; of these, 500,395 (56%) have died. Of the 9,348 children under 13, 58% have died.

New director Matt Hartney (see page 1), Chris Haley-Walden, co-chair, the Rev. Mac Thigpen, Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Atlanta, and preacher for the Eucharist during the weekend, and the Rev. Helen Havens, elected to the board in January and attending her first Board meeting.

New director Matt Hartney, Chris Haley-Walden, co-chair, the Rev. Mac Thigpen, Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Atlanta, and preacher for the Eucharist during the weekend, and the Rev. Helen Havens, elected to the board in January and attending her first Board meeting.

During this period the number of people living with AIDS has increased. The percentage of HIV cases in the black community has increased, in whites, the number has decreased, and in Hispanics it is about level. Through 2003 there have been 221,065 diagnoses of HIV, not AIDS.

Sean David Griffith, MPH, spoke about “Advancing HIV Prevention (AHP).” There is a need for increased education and simple, rapid HIV testing. The effect on behavior of both knowledge of status and the increasing number of people living with HIV/AIDS is being studied. An estimated 180,000–280,000 people are not aware they are infected.

Quairo K. Ali, head of the National Faith Alliance Network, spoke next, pointing out that stigma in faith communities is an obstacle to education, prevention, and treatment. Her office is constantly seeking dialogue with the leadership in these communities to overcome it. She said the CDC deals with faith communities where they are—especially with regard to promotion of abstinence or condoms.

Further information is available on the website of the CDC: www.cdc.gov.