[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             AIDS EPIDEMIC

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                               speech of

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2001

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today marks twenty years since the 
official recognition of the disease that would come to be known as 
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. In those twenty years 
medical and pharmaceutical advancements have made HIV/AIDS more 
manageable for some, but a cure has yet to be found.
  In order to erase this scourge from the planet, a re-commitment, not 
complacency is required by the United States and all governments around 
the world. We need to refocus our efforts and not allow complacency to 
dictate the future. There must be a continued worldwide commitment to 
the eradication of this plague. 20 years of AIDS is Enough!


                           The Impact of AIDS

  Twenty years ago, the devastating impact AIDS was to have on the 
world could not have been imagined. On June 5, 1981, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article about five 
cases of rare pneumocystis pneumonia among gay men in Los Angeles. 
Since then, AIDS has spread globally, with 36 million people presently 
living with HIV, 900,000 in the United States alone.
  According to the CDC, people of color make up 57% of the cumulative 
AIDS cases and 68% of the new AIDS cases reported as of June 2000. It 
is the leading cause of death of African-American men ages 25-44. 
40,000 new HIV infections occur in the U.S. every year.
  According to the CDC, men of color account for 63% of the new AIDS 
cases reported among men in the twelve months ended June 2000 and women 
of color make up 82% of new AIDS cases reported among females in the 
twelve months ended June 2000. Children of color make up 84% of the 
pediatric new AIDS cases reported in the twelve months ended in June 
2000. Young men of color and women of color are particularly 
vulnerable.
  The 1998-2000 Young Men's Survey (YMS), a study of over 2,000 gay men 
ages 23 to 29 in Baltimore, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and 
Seattle, found that 30% of African-Americans, 15% of Hispanics, 3% of 
Asians and 7 percent of Caucasian men were living with HIV. Only a 
third of those infected knew they had HIV. In 1999, persons aged 13-24 
years accounted for 15% of reported HIV cases, and women made up 49% of 
the cases in this age group.
  Since 1981 the face of AIDS has changed markedly. Originally known as 
a ``gay man's disease'', AIDS has exploded into a worldwide epidemic 
affecting men, women and children of all races, a deadly presence that 
does not discriminate. In the US, while 46% of reported AIDS cases were 
the result of homosexual contact, 54% were exposed through heterosexual 
contact or intravenous drug use (IDU); worldwide, more than 80 percent 
of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual 
intercourse. The largest number of persons infected with HIV/AIDS are 
Sub-Saharan Africans, totaling at present 25.3 million, though Asia is 
presently set to out-pace Africa in the next decade.
  In twenty years, HIV has infected a reported 52 million people 
worldwide. 21.8 million have died from AIDS, 3 million in the year 
2000. Of the 36 million people presently living with HIV/AIDS 
worldwide, 34.7 million are adults, 18.3 million are men, 16.4 million 
are women and 1.3 million are under the age of 15. It is estimated that 
during 2000, 5.2 million people were newly infected with HIV, an 
average of 14,250 daily.
  In the 20 years since AIDS was identified, more than 800,000 
Americans have been diagnosed with AIDS; nearly half of them have died. 
Today, AIDS still claims two lives every hours in this country. 
Worldwide, more than 35 million people are currently living with AIDS . 
. . 22 million have already died. Three million lives were lost in 2000 
alone. Most of them died without adequate medical care or treatment for 
even the most common and treatable infections that accompany the 
disease.
  We must never forget the contributions of those who have gone before 
us. Today as we recognize the 20th Anniversary of the discovery of 
AIDS. I commend the 12 National Organizations from across the country, 
who have come together to launch a national campaign to provide health 
care, treatment, and prevention education and information to millions 
of Americans impacted by this epidemic with the following goals:
  To raise the level of awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 
United States and its devastating impact on our nation in the last 20 
years. To illustrate for America's leadership the catastrophic 
worldwide epidemic and its likely toll in human lives. To motivate 
Americans, particularly policymakers, to recommit to advances in 
treatment, medicine and science. To engage Americans of all ages in 
local activities that allow them to understand that this epidemic 
touches everyone.
  AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, AIDS Project Los Angeles, The 
Balm in Gilead, Broadway Cares, Gay Men's Health Crisis, The National 
Association of People with AIDS, National Minority AIDS Council, The 
NAMES Project Foundation, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and the 
Whitman-Walker Clinic are all to be commended for coming together in 
this unique partnership to launch a national public affairs campaign to 
provide health care, treatment, and prevention education and 
information to millions of Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, 20 years of AIDS is Enough!




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