A Million Condoms for DC

Today I attended the Washington Times Citizens Forum on HIV/AIDS. (for pictures from the event, see the FightHIVinDC Flickr Page) Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton noted that despite good efforts, we still have the highest HIV infection rate in the country. Norton urged participants to think critically about new approaches and new directions we should take to address the pandemic. I won't give you a blow-by-blow of the event, because the full text of the forum will be printed in the Washington Times next week. I will mention, though, that the event was moderated Walter Smith of DC Appleseed, and included comments by Barbara Chin of Whitman Walker, Greg Payne of the DC Department of Health, Ann Wise of Metro Teen AIDS, and Jennifer Kates of the Kaiser Family Foundation. There wasn't a lot of new information or discussion at this event. Hearing the history of Metro Teen AIDS or Whitman Walker is quite interesting if you haven't heard it before. Unfortunately, for most of the people in this small Saturday Morning crowd, that was not the case. Two things you might not have heard about yet, came from Marsha Martin at the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs: First, AHPP is planning to purchase and distribute a million condoms in the District. This may be kind of a gimmicky number, but I think it's really good news. When I attended the recent Freedom Plaza Event, I noticed a staff person from the Washington Free Clinic stashing away condoms from exhibitor tables. When I inquired about it, I learned that they've been having a challenging time securing enough condoms for their clients. So ... any effort to make more condoms available to DC resident is greatly appreciated. Second, Dr. Marsha Martin from AHPP mentioned the possibility of having a BIG town hall style event on HIV/AIDS in the end of January. And by big, she was talking about as many as 5,000 people. I think it's the perfect time to engage the city. By then, we will have a lot of useful information from the HIV screening campaign, and a clearer picture of the epidemic in DC. Also, we'll have a new Mayor and City Council members, so it's a great time to talk about goals and objectives for fighting the epidemic. I hope this idea comes to pass.