A majority of the Chicago City Council kicked off its new term by calling for a $1 million increase in city funding for HIV prevention services.
In a letter to Mayor Daley, 26 aldermen said the amount of funds devoted to HIV prevention has decreased 8% from nearly $4 million in 1997 to $3.6 million today, despite the fact that an ever-growing number of Chicagoans are becoming infected.
Recent data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the City of Chicago is both alarming and frightening, reports the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. A Crisis Response Team, convened at the request of Mayor Daley and sponsored by the federal government and the Chicago Department of Public Health, released its assessment of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The team’s report, ‘Rapid Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (RARE) Report,’ finds serious gaps in the city’s HIV prevention efforts.
According to the RARE Report, efforts to prevent new infections are insufficient.
An estimated 22,000 people in Chicago are living with HIV. More than 11,000 Chicagoans have died of AIDS. African Americans, who account for approximately 36% of the city’s population, comprise nearly 66% of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 64% of recently diagnosed adult HIV cases. Among women, African Americans account for 40% of the city’s population but 78% of the AIDS cases between 1997-’99.