As Georgetown’s campus commemorates World AIDS Week with flyers, t-shirts and a Unity Live benefit, it’s worth remembering that AIDS isn’t only a trendy issue for internationally-minded students. Five percent of the District’s population has HIV, according to a report released by Washington’s Department of Health, which also found that 13.2 percent of new HIV infections came from injected drugs. With infection rates so high, the city’s lack of support for needle exchange programs is dangerously negligent.
Washington is the only major city in the country that does not allow local tax dollars to be used for needle exchange programs, according to Ken Vail, the executive director of PreventionWorks!, Washington’s only needle exchange.
Running a government-funded needle exchange program in the District is difficult, according to Vail, because of a long-standing federal rider, an addendum to the D.C. Appropriations Bill that prevents tax money from being used for needle exchange programs. Fortunately, though, the rider’s days may be numbered. A major bill has passed the House without the rider and could be signed by President Bush soon.
“There’s a strong likelihood the president’s not going to break the whole bill apart just to veto syringe exchange,” Vail said.
Whether or not the rider lapses, the D.C. government needs to take a more active role in promoting needle exchange. A Department of Health press release outlined several actions the city government intends to take in response to the study, including reducing “risky behavior.” Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) plans to increase free condom distribution and emergency-room HIV testing, which are certainly steps in the right direction, and a District-funded needle exchange is an equally important step.
It’s hard to think of a riskier behavior than sharing needles, and President Bush should not veto the rider-less bill.
