The Deep South comprises only 28 percent of the U.S. population, but in 2013 this region accounted for 40 percent of new HIV diagnoses and 34 percent of people living with HIV, according to research from the Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative (SASI). This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s funding model doesn’t adequately recognize community based organizations working outside large urban areas to prevent AIDS in the South, which will increase existing disparities, says Carolyn McAllaster, director of Duke’s HIV/AIDS Policy Clinic and the Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative. • Quotes: "The updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) recognizes that the South is disproportionately affected by HIV and includes as a specific goal for the reduction of disparities in the rate of new diagnoses by at least 15 percent among persons living in the southern United States,” says Carolyn McAllaster, a clinical professor of law at Duke Law School and director of Duke’s HIV/AIDS Policy Clinic. “Reduced prevention funding for community-based organizations in the South, groups that are uniquely positioned to reach communities at risk for HIV, will only serve to increase the HIV burden in this region. Ensuring that the South receives an equitable share of prevention funding and that the funding distributions are consistent with the geographic distribution of the epidemic are crucial steps in reaching the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy." • Bio:Carolyn McAllaster is a clinical professor of law at Duke Law School and director of Duke’s HIV/AIDS Policy Clinic and the Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative.http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/mcallaster • For additional comment, contact McAllaster at:mcallaster@law.duke.edu
