The AIDS Foundation of Chicago is urging people to back both domestic and international AIDS programs.
“Join organizations across the country in endorsing the Domestic and Global HIV/AIDS Presidential Platforms that will be used to educate candidates vying for the presidency in 2004. To view the domestic platform, go to www.aidschicago.org/pdf/2004_presidential_platform.pdf or call Amy LaMantia at (312) 922-2322 to receive one by fax. Send agency endorsement, including full contact information, to signons@aidsvote.org,” AFC stated.
“With nearly 1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS and a raging epidemic across the globe, we must not allow presidential candidates to remain silent on AIDS,” AFC said. “In order to educate them on AIDS public policy issues, a group of AIDS organizations from across the country, including the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, has created the Domestic 2004 HIV/AIDS Presidential Platform. A group of global AIDS organizations, led by Health GAP, has developed the companion global AIDS platform called ?-Stop-AIDS.’ The two platforms will serve as tools to educate candidates and voters about the necessary policies the White House must enact in order to respond effectively to the AIDS pandemic.”
The domestic platform is divided into 10 points describing the medical care, prevention, housing, and research needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. It also outlines the need for the U.S. to develop better policies regarding HIV prevention, welfare, drug treatment, prisoner healthcare, and the global AIDS pandemic. The global platform recommends policies in nine critical areas, including funding, access to clinical treatments, global trade, and debt relief, to end the global AIDS pandemic. Both documents will be sent to all presidential candidates, including George W. Bush, in the coming months. In addition, AIDS organizations are preparing questionnaires based on the two platforms to gauge and publicize candidates’ positions on HIV/AIDS policy issues.
Non-profits play an important role in educating candidates on critical issues during election seasons, AFC said. Federal law allows all tax-exempt, 501(c) 3 organizations to engage in election-related activities including voter education, voter registration, get-out-the-vote, and candidate education.