FLORIDA AIDS ACTION
PO Box 16705 - Tampa, FL 33687
(813) 232-5886 - Fax (813) 232-0857

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Mary Ann T. Green
(813) 974-4892/mgreen@floridaaidsaction.org

FLORIDA AIDS ACTION TO HOST SOUTHERN AIDS CONFERENCE

Tampa, FL - Florida AIDS Action (FLAA) is pleased to announce that the nonprofit AIDS organization will host a Southern AIDS Conference, Tuesday & Wednesday, December 3rd & 4th, 2002, in Tampa, Florida.

A by invitation-only event, the Southern AIDS Conference will draw together community-based and government leaders in HIV/AIDS care, treatment, housing and prevention services from 13 southern states and Washington, DC. Ryan White CARE Act Titles I, II, III and IV, Medicaid, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA), AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) and Prevention efforts will be represented.

The purpose of the conference is to address the unique challenges inherent in fighting the AIDS epidemic in the Southern region of the United States. In addition to regional representation, a number of federal agencies have been invited to send representatives including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. A number of southern Members of Congress have also been invited to participate in the conference.

"It is our hope that by bringing together HIV/AIDS community leaders from across the South, we will be able to address AIDS related issues endemic to this region and create a plan tailored to halting the spread of AIDS and STDs in our communities," explains FLAA Executive Director Dr. Gene Copello. "In particular, we will assess the role of federal assistance to the South in addressing HIV/AIDS."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of persons estimated to be living with AIDS by region details the fact that Southern States remain disproportionately affected by the epidemic:

· More than 130,000 in the South
· Just over 100,000 in the Northeast
· Approximately 36,000 in the Midwest
· Nearly 62,000 in the West

Explains Marylin Merida, Ryan White Title IV Program Coordinator for the Florida Family AIDS Network at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health and FLAA board member, "When we look at the numbers of new AIDS cases in each region, we see a similar trend - with the South hit hardest with more than 20,000 new cases a year. The total for the Northeast, Midwest and West combined is about 28,000. Obviously, we in the South have distinct issues that need to be addressed locally, regionally and nationally."

Copello agrees. "It is vital that we address issues specific to this region and raise awareness that the battle with AIDS is far from over." He continues, "We need to deal with the inequity of AIDS funding for the South, network as a region and develop of federal policy strategy. The bottom line is that it is time for us act … to mobilize to ensure that we win the war against AIDS and we must start in our own backyard."

Held at the Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel, Tampa, Florida, this conference will feature representation from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC and West Virginia.

The Southern AIDS Conference is sponsored by AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families, AIDS Action, Agouron-Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Florida AIDS Action, GlaxoSmithKline, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and Schering-Plough.

To learn more about Florida AIDS Action, and for information on how to become involved in AIDS advocacy work, please contact Florida AIDS Action by phone at: (813) 232-5886, or by email at: information@floridaaidsaction.org .

###

Florida AIDS Action, the only statewide 501(c)(3) HIV/AIDS agency in Florida, promotes social change through community planning, education, public policy research and advocacy. For more information, call (813) 232-5886, or visit on the web at www.floridaaidsaction.org.