Rep. Barbara Lee was the keynote speaker at the 17th National HIV/AIDS Update Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland on Sunday evening. Lee talked about the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on minorities and women and urged attendees to address the underlying factors that are making certain communities more vulnerable to the disease.

"HIV/AIDS is having a devastating impact on African Americans and other marginalized communities," said Lee. "Despite the fact that African Americans make up only 12 percent of our population, in 2003 they accounted for 50 percent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses."

"As we take the important step of highlighting the new faces of AIDS and we develop strategies to reach out to the communities they represent, we must understand the real reasons that make them vulnerable," said Lee. "I would argue that the fundamental root of their vulnerability is a direct result of the structural inequality in our society, a society that devalues the worth of whole communities based on prejudice, ignorance, or both."

Lee said that instead of addressing the underlying causes for the increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in certain communities, in many cases the government response had exacerbated them.

"The Bush administration and the Republican Congress are more interested in advancing the political agenda of a radical, right wing minority than they are in implementing real policy solutions that benefit everyone," said Lee.

"Across the Federal Government, the so called 'values' of the radical right are running roughshod over a range of rational, evidence based public policies intended to fight this disease," she continued. "These are values that say it's okay to remove language about the benefits of condom use from government websites supposedly dedicated to protecting the public health. This could be a death sentence."

Lee urged participants in the conference, whose theme was "Emerging Trends - Redefining the Epidemic," to fight not only for funding for new research and treatment, but also for policies that address the underlying factors.

"When we talk about AIDS prevention, we must also talk about the socio-economic environment in our country such as ending poverty, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, stigma, discrimination, ignorance and inequality in the same breath," said Lee. "The sooner that we help the public and policymakers understand that HIV/AIDS is thriving in underserved communities because neglect, homophobia and racism, the sooner we can get government to fight on our side against these inequalities."

In Alameda County, which has been under a State of AIDS Emergency since 1998, the disease has disproportionately affected people of color. In 2003, the cumulative number of AIDS cases among African Americans surpassed that of whites. African Americans living in Oakland have an overall AIDS case rate three times greater than that of white and Latino residents. This trend is mirrored by national figures, which show an AIDS mortality rate for African Americans almost nine times higher than for white people.

The Conference was sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and the Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center, and will attract nearly 2,000 clinicians, public health workers, scientists, advocates and people living with HIV/AIDS, translating the latest research findings into practical information for those working on the epidemic's front lines.

Contact: Nathan Britton, 202/225-2661.