Statement on Reinstatement of Ban on Federal Funding of Syringe Exchange Programs
Statement from Rebecca Haag, AIDS Action President & CEO:
“This decision by Congress to reinstate a ban on federal funding of syringe exchange programs prioritizes political ideology over public health. The ban, which was lifted in 2009 after being in place for two decades, directly undermines President Obama’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which highlights needle exchange programs as an evidence-based way of reducing HIV infections.
“Since needle exchange programs were established in Massachusetts, the percentage of new cases of HIV attributable to injection drug use dropped from 41 percent in 1995 to under 10 percent in 2009. Aggressive prevention, education, and outreach to injection drug users is one of the many ways Massachusetts has been able to reduce new diagnoses of HIV by 59 percent over the last decade. This has spared 4,085 people who otherwise would have become infected with HIV untold suffering, and it will also save the Commonwealth more than $1.6 billion in health care expenditures.
“We also know that syringe exchange programs help reduce the spread of hepatitis C. Approximately 100,000 people in Massachusetts are infected with hepatitis C and there are about 7,000 to 10,000 new diagnoses annually. Since 2007, there have been approximately 1,000 cases of hepatitis C infection each year among young people aged 15 to 25 years, and these infections are driven largely through the shared used of syringes. Syringe exchange programs can help reduce hepatitis C infections by 10 to 20 percent each year. They also serve as a bridge to treatment for drug addiction.
“It is deeply ironic that this budget bill will result in increased health care costs for the country in terms of new infections of HIV, hepatitis C and other blood-borne infections that are otherwise entirely avoidable.”
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is the state’s leading provider of prevention and wellness services for people vulnerable to HIV infection. It provides services to one in six people in Massachusetts living with an HIV diagnosis. These services include HIV counseling and testing; needle exchange; mental health counseling; housing assistance; and legal services. AIDS Action works to prevent new HIV infections, support those affected by HIV, and tackle the root causes of HIV/AIDS by educating the public and health professionals about HIV prevention and care; and advocating for fair and effective HIV/AIDS policy at the city, state, and federal levels. Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is New England’s first and largest AIDS service organization. Learn more at www.aac.org.
