Maintaining Our Commitment to Healthy Individuals
A record number of the Washington State residents, between 11,000 and 12,000, are living with HIV/AIDS today; 10-15% of them do not know their HIV positive status. AIDS Omnibus Act -funded HIV prevention programs seek to educate people who are HIV positive, to encourage HIV testing among individuals unaware of their status, and to provide age, gender, culture, and sexual orientation-appropriate HIV/AIDS education among those at risk for HIV. Utilizing funds through the landmark AIDS Omnibus Act, created in 1988 with broad bipartisan support, six lead health departments oversee the collaborative efforts of both public health and community-based organizations in their efforts to conduct sound and proven HIV prevention interventions. In 2001 new HIV infections numbered 568, in 2003 there were 554, and in 2007 there were 550. Thanks to the state’s investment infection rates have remained steady, even though HIV/AIDS infected population has consistently grown. There still is no cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS, yet the Governor proposed to cut HIV prevention funding by 10%, or $1.5M in the next biennium. This budget reduction will cause infection rates to spike, and put an even bigger burden on our HIV/AIDS care system.
The fight against HIV is far from over, and what was true 21 years ago remains so today: every dollar effectively spent on HIV prevention saves not just lives, but in the long run, money.
The fight against HIV is far from over, and what was true 21 years ago remains so today: every dollar effectively spent on HIV prevention saves not just lives, but in the long run, money. HIV Prevention Campaigns work
A recent study released by CDC reflects the success of HIV prevention: HIV transmission rate in the U.S. has decreased by 89% since 1984 and 33% since 1997. At the beginning of the epidemic there were 44 transmissions per 100 people with HIV. By 2006, there were just under five transmissions per 100 HIV-positive people. Source: CDC fact sheet, December 2008.
Investing in HIV Prevention Is Cost-Effective
HIV prevention efforts in Washington State have stabilized the rate of new infections at 5-6% annually, preventing thousands of individuals from contracting the virus. A 2006 study projected that the average lifetime cost of HIV treatment is $618,900 in comparison to an estimated $13,000 required to provide a worker with training in HIV prevention.
Parameter Base Case
HIV lifetime treatment cost $618,900
Cost of brief intervention to reduce sexual risk (per client) $40
Cost of small group intervention to reduce sexual risk (per client) $300
Cost of drug use risk services (per client) $423
Cost of HIV counseling and testing (HIV- client) $37
Cost of HIV counseling and testing (HIV+ client) $115
Additional cost of intensive behavioral prevention services for HIV+ persons $600
Source: One Time Massive Effort Calculation: Assumptions, Holtgrave, Pinkerton, Merson: AJPM 2002
Community-based response to HIV/AIDS in our state is at a tipping point
And yet the need for these and other programs has never been greater. AIDS service organizations have endured over a decade of flat funding stretching scarce resources over an ever-growing population in need of HIV prevention education. Some organizations are no longer able to provide these vital services. For example, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, the only AIDS service organization within a three hour radius of Walla Walla, recently laid off their only HIV prevention worker. Another organization specializing in working with communities of color in rural settings closed their doors last year in Yakima. Results of these closures are already showing in our state’s epidemiological data. Throughout Washington, infection rates among youth are increasing, especially outside King County, while the funds available for prevention programs are decreasing in real dollar terms.
Lifelong AIDS Alliance, and AIDS Service Organizations across Washington, Urge the State Legislature to Restore $1.5M for HIV Prevention
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