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Authorizing the City Council Committee on Health and Human Services to hold hearings to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on the citizens of Philadelphia and to evaluate the direction, the cost, the effectiveness, and the priorities of City funded and City administered HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs.
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WHEREAS, We enter the third decade of the crisis with no immediate end in sight; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of Philadelphia last held hearings on HIV/AIDS in 1986 and fourteen years later the crisis still grows unabated in many communities; and
WHEREAS, The AIDS crisis in Philadelphia has claimed 6,471 lives out of 12,856 cases, and will continue its deadly mission until all people, branches of government, private industry and communities join forces in a sincere effort to eradicate HIV/AIDS; and
WHEREAS, After a period of time many communities seemingly adhered to the message of ‘safer sex’ and the rate of transmission was drastically reduced, now many communities have been lulled into a sense of complacency and a recent study by the Center for Disease Control has revealed that in certain populations the rate of transmission has increased to alarming rates; and
WHEREAS, The same study has revealed that up to thirty percent of African-American men in their 20’s in various cities are infected with HIV as compared to twelve percent overall; and
WHEREAS, This alarming rate of infection will continue in many communities until innovative solutions are created to arrest the spread of HIV, and that the message of ‘safer sex’ needs to resonate in all communities; and
WHEREAS, An increasing number of people remain untested and regrettably only receive treatment when they enter the late stages of the disease, often too late to be effective; and
WHEREAS, Advances in treatments have increased the quality and the length of life, though because of lack of quality medical care, many of the advanced treatments remain out of reach to many of people with HIV/AIDS; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia spent $9.5 million and administered a total of $44 million on HIV/AIDS programs in fiscal year 1999; and
WHEREAS, The effectiveness of City funded programs should remains a priority, and funds should be allotted by identified needs and merit; and
WHEREAS, The City Council calls for a vigilant and uniform response from all Philadelphians including agencies, religious institutions, community and civic groups to end the AIDS crisis; and
RESOLVED, BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA, That the City Council Committee on Health and Human Services is authorized to hold hearings on the impact of HIV/AIDS and the citizens of Philadelphia and to evaluate the direction, the cost, the effectiveness, and the priorities of City funded and City administered HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs.
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