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Date: Thursday, Sept. 17, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: CDC Press Office (404) 639-3286

FEDERAL HEALTH AGENCY ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FY 1998 FUNDS TO ADDRESS HIV/AIDS AMONG RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that an additional $4.9 million is being directed to supplement existing FY 1998 departmental efforts to address HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach services in racial and ethnic minority communities.

The funding will be used to support a variety of programs aimed at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS in minority communities, including community-based prevention services, targeted HIV/AIDS outreach services for African-American women already in a federally sponsored prenatal care program, and a model program in Los Angeles County that integrates HIV/AIDS-related health, substance abuse and other services for racial and ethnic minorities.

"I am pleased to be able to announce these new grants as part of our continuing response to the growing HIV/AIDS crisis in communities of color," Secretary Donna E. Shalala said. "HIV/AIDS is becoming more prevalent in racial and ethnic minority communities, especially among African-Americans and Hispanics. This is a severe, ongoing crisis that calls for a long-term response that is comprehensive and sustained."

The bulk of the resources is coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which is providing $3 million in fiscal 1998 funds for this effort including:

• $2.1 million to support 30 community-based organizations providing high-priority HIV prevention services in African-American and Latino communities;
• $900,000 for three state and city health departments to increase access to prevention services for HIV-infected individuals, especially African-Americans and Latinos, to prevent further spread of the disease.

The remaining $1,875,000 of the funding is being provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and will be used in the following ways:

• $950,000 for HIV/AIDS outreach activities targeted to African-American women of childbearing age through the Healthy Start program;
• $790,000 to bolster HIV/AIDS related activities available through community health centers, and in public housing programs serving low-income, medically underserved people; and
• $135,000 for a Los Angeles County project that could serve as a national model for targeting the African-American community through linking health care, mental health, substance abuse treatment and other critical HIV/AIDS services.

HHS has been working with the Congressional Black Caucus to expand its ongoing dialogue with minority community leaders, community representatives and AIDS activists to develop a sustained and coordinated strategy to respond to the severe and ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis in communities of color. Particular issues of concern have been the need to mobilize effective prevention efforts in minority communities and bring about equal benefits for minority populations from available therapies. HHS is developing a set of immediate strategic responses to support essential infrastructure capacity within these communities. An announcement on these targeted strategies is expected soon.

Under the Clinton Administration, HHS has increased overall funding for HIV/AIDS related programs by 86 percent, and stepped up its commitment to addressing the HIV/AIDS concerns of racial and ethnic minority communities.

Already, a substantial portion of federal dollars are serving racial and ethnic minority populations. For example, 63 percent of participants in NIH-sponsored AIDS clinical trials are minorities, of whom 40 percent are African-Americans and more than 20 percent are Hispanic. Also, some 80 percent of clients of Title IV of the Ryan White CARE Act are racial and ethnic minorities.

Earlier this year, the Clinton Administration unveiled the Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. This $400 million initiative over five years gives special attention and resources to closing the gaps between African-Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans in terms of HIV/AIDS and several other major illnesses. The goal is to close these gaps by the year 2010.

Note: Fact Sheets are available on HIV/AIDS and the African-American and Hispanic populations. HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.