Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) issued the following statement regarding the 21st Anniversary of World AIDS Day.

Washington, D.C.--“Today, as we commemorate World AIDS Day, we must reflect both on the lives lost so far and on our continued moral obligation to provide necessary treatment and research dollars for those living with HIV/AIDS. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I understand the urgency of this issue and pledge to continue my efforts to halt the spread of this insidious disease, and treat those already suffering.

“I have continually fought for increased federal dollars for New York to treat the more than 120,000 New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS today. New York remains the epicenter of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States, with 17 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases occurring in the United States. New York's high HIV/AIDS case rate is why the Obama Administration will be holding an AIDS Forum in New York City on Friday, December 4, at Columbia University.

“Congress was able to pass the Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization earlier this year, addressing the unmet primary care and health support needs of low income people living with HIV/AIDS. Unlike the fights waged in the previous administration, I am pleased that New York has not been subject to potential cuts to the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Ryan White CARE Act aid it is due to receive.

“This year, I was able to include my bipartisan Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) in the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3269). My legislation reforms Medicaid rules mandating that people be disabled by AIDS before receiving treatment. National health guidelines recommend early and aggressive treatment for those with HIV in order to keep illnesses from progressing to AIDS. ETHA will allow states to treat low-income individuals with HIV under the Medicaid program at an enhanced federal reimbursement. HIV will no longer have to be a death sentence for many people, because of the new medical treatments available today.

"I also want to commend the International AIDS Society (IAS) for announcing yesterday that it will hold the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, DC, in July 2012. The IAS Governing Council decided to hold AIDS 2012 in Washington, DC, following President Barack Obama’s October announcement that the entry restrictions on people living with HIV would end on January 4, 2010.

“In July 2008, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization was signed into law, authorizing up to $48 billion over the next 5 years to combat global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. I wrote the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act, which was included in PEPFAR. Worldwide, close to 2 million people were killed by tuberculosis in 2007, and my legislation will go a long way towards providing resources to those suffering from both diseases.

“Some of the alarming worldwide data includes:

• 33.4 million people worldwide currently have HIV/AIDS.
• Two million people died from AIDS in 2008.
• Young people aged 15-24 account for 40 percent of all new adult HIV cases.
• 2.1 million children are currently living with HIV; there were 430,000 new infections in 2008 and 280,000 deaths.
• • There are approximately 17.5 million AIDS orphans - children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS - 81% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.
• • 1.4 million North Americans living with AIDS in 2008, with 55,000 new cases.

“World AIDS Day gives us an opportunity to examine the progress made and to investigate further steps to take towards combating this deadly, worldwide pandemic. Working together, we can address both prevention and early treatment options and hopefully one day find a cure for AIDS.”