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JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, April 13, 2007
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said last week that fighting HIV and AIDS in the nation’s capital will be the “number one priority” of his administration.
Speaking at a summit that brought together more than 150 health experts and activists, Fenty said he would boost the District’s evolving efforts to combat HIV and treat people living with the virus or AIDS.
He also pledged to bring stability and accountability to the city’s recently realigned AIDS office, which he said soon will have a new director.
“You have my full support, as mayor of the District of Columbia, that we will show the kind of leadership, follow-through and engagement to make sure that we’re making fast and steady progress on this crisis,” Fenty said.
During his talk April 4 at the Kaiser Family Foundation, Fenty said neither he nor the District’s health department director, Gregg Pane, were satisfied with prior local efforts to combat the disease.
“But the purpose of this summit is to say that this is the number one priority of this government, and that we’re going to be responsive and it’s coming from the top,” Fenty said.
An estimated 17,000 to 25,000 people living in D.C. have HIV, according to local health statistics. The city has the nation’s highest rate of AIDS cases, with a calculated 179 cases per 100,000 people.
Pane, who also spoke at the summit, called on governmental agencies and private organizations to work cooperatively to curb the spread of HIV.
He said last month’s distribution of 250,000 condoms via local clinics and community organizations showed what can happen when public and private groups work together.
“I think if we work together, make accomplishments, one after the other, we’re going to win this battle,” he said. “I think we’re doing it now. We’re moving ahead in a good way.”
Time to declare emergency?
But some activists said the efforts aren’t enough and they are asking the District to declare a state of emergency.
“It would give the mayor and the health department more ability to marshal more resources toward HIV/AIDS and a more direct ability to craft policy,” said Alex Lawson, 26, founder of D.C. Fights Back.
Other large cities — including Baltimore, Los Angeles and New York — have declared public health emergencies to combat rising HIV rates. But when asked at the summit whether he would make such a declaration, Fenty sidestepped the question.
“All that matters is results,” he said. “And that’s what this government is targeted for. You can call it whatever you want — we’re going to call it results. And we’re here to get some specific recommendations to add to the ones we already have and to make sure we get you those results.”
It was not the first time Fenty’s administration has dodged the issue. In a March 28 letter, Pane told the Campaign to End AIDS that District officials are unsure if such a declaration is appropriate.
“Issuing a state of emergency is a very serious matter,” he wrote. “The law is intended for expeditious action to yield immediate, short-term benefits to an impending health condition, such as an outbreak of anthrax, small pox or avian flu.”
Pane noted in his letter that even without a declared emergency, Fenty remains committed to fighting the disease.
“The mayor’s goal is steadfast that the HIV/AIDS epidemic requires strong, coordinated and strategic action on the part of the District government and the HIV/AIDS community,” he wrote.
Lawson said although such efforts will help, Fenty must make a public and personal plea to District residents.
“I want him to get on camera and say, ‘These are the facts, this is our HIV rate, this is how it’s spread, this is how to prevent it being spread and this is where you can get tested — and please get tested,’” Lawson said. “That’s the kind of personal leadership that I’m still waiting for from the mayor.”
Non-committal responses
Some attendees said Fenty responded unevenly to other questions posed by summit attendants.
At one point, he committed to improving the coordination between District agencies that help people living with HIV or AIDS. He said a plan for change would materialize within 90 days.
“You have that pledge,” Fenty told the summit audience. “We will do that. And we are going to bring these agencies together within the next week to start making sure we’re meeting a lot of the different demands, requests and good ideas coming out of this group.”
But the mayor was reluctant to specify a timeline for the plan’s implementation.
“You give me the benchmarks,” Fenty said. “You tell me when you want it done by. That’s what this community is supposed to do. I’m not supposed to grade myself. I’m supposed to be graded by the community.”
He was non-committal when asked if he would reconstitute an AIDS task force or make the District’s AIDS czar a cabinet-level position. Fenty said that he would consider both ideas but made no promises.
A question about how statehood could help D.C. better fight the AIDS crisis drew a fast response.
“I think being able to spend our money freer, quicker and without federal intervention is extremely key,” Fenty said. He also noted statehood would help officials accept “more daring and challenging ideas” to combat HIV because D.C. would no longer be subject to congressional oversight.
But other questions appeared to stump the mayor. Fenty, who fought to take control of the city’s public schools, stumbled when asked if he’d consider implementing routine HIV testing for students.
“I’m not even aware of what their current position is on that,” he said. “What is their current position on that?”
When his staff offered no immediate response, Fenty forged ahead.
“Do we know what other jurisdictions do? Does anybody know that, offhand? Well, we’ll look into that. I’ll have our deputy mayor and our director of the department of health look at that right now.”
Ron Simmons, 47, president of Us Helping Us, said after the summit that he’d welcome routine HIV testing in schools.
“We need to talk about it,” he said. “Kids in school are sexually active.”
‘We can do better’
Pane separately told the summit audience that the District must make new attempts to educate youth about HIV.
“They are the least likely to get what they need,” he said, “and we need to find a way to reach them in the schools and elsewhere.”
Such efforts, Pane said, should be part of the District’s evolving efforts to battle the disease.
Pane, who’s served as interim director of the HIV/AIDS Administration since January, said the District also must recommit to its ambitious goal of screening all residents between the ages of 14 and 84 for HIV.
Plans originally called for an estimated 400,000 residents to be screened by Dec. 31. About 48,000 people were tested at year’s end.
“The screening campaign, I know we can do better, we’re going to do better,” he told the summit audience. “I know we can do a lot, lot more, so I’m looking for your help there.”
Summit attendees said they were willing to work with District officials to achieve that and other goals.
“They don’t need to have all the answers,” Lawson said. “We’re not expecting them to have all the answers. We’re expecting them to facilitate the community stepping up and dealing with the issue … with the government’s backing and help and resources.”
Walter Smith, executive director of Appleseed, a group that has criticized the District for its response to the AIDS crisis, said such partnerships should yield positive results.
“At the end of the day, all that matters is results, and all that matters, then, is accountability for those results,” Smith said. “And I think that’s what this mayor believes in.”
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