South Carolinians to rally against potential HIV/AIDS budget cuts

With the news coming in last week that the South Carolina House of Representatives have chosen to cut out HIV/AIDS funding from the state budget, more information about the exact programs being cut as well as what the gay community and their allies plan to do about it is coming in.

The following is from Tamera Tedder, president of the South Carolina Pride Movement:

As some of you know last week a vote to have all funding for AIDS has been cut from the budget in South Carolina. Project FAITH and ADAP are two of the programs which are currently on the chopping block under the proposed budget.

ADAP is the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which helps HIV positive patients gain access to the necessary medication to maintain their health. If access to these medications is unavailable for a large population, rapidly increasing death rates will be seen across our state.

South Carolina ranks 8th in the nation for new AIDS cases annually. Our capital, and the location of our rally, Columbia, ranks 9th among larger metropolitan areas for new AIDS cases annually. This is NO time to cut funding! *South Carolina ranks FIRST in the nation for the percentage of cumulative cases of AIDS from heterosexual contact

Please JOIN US on Wednesday, March 17 from 11:30-12:30 inside the State House in the Rotunda. We are joining together to show our legislators how important AIDS funding and the future of our community is to us. 

Related posts:

South Carolina House of Representatives votes to cut ALL HIV/AIDS funding