D.C. makes the grade on HIV/AIDS fight

For the sixth consecutive year, D.C.'s city government was graded on its fight against HIV/AIDS. The city passed easily.

DC Appleseed, a nonprofit D.C. public policy organization, gave the city all A's and B's. But for the first time, some of the grades decreased from last year's report.

"This is not an issue the mayor alone or the District government alone can take on. A part of the campaign theme of this mayor was 'One City' ??-- involving all parts of the city and reaching out to all parts of the city," said Walter Smith, executive director of DC Appleseed.

The threshold for an epidemic is 1 percent of a population being infected. More than 3 percent of District's roughly 600,000 residents are living with HIV or AIDS, said Dena Iverson of the city's Health Department.

Mayor Vincent Gray said in his inaugural address that he was making HIV/AIDS a top priority in his administration. In February, he announced his new Commission on HIV/AIDS in February. That body met for the first time Tuesday, and DC Appleseed officially delivered its report card there.

"That is the great power of being the mayor. When the mayor calls, people answer," Smith said. "At the end of the day, I believe -- and I think this mayor believes -- that this is a fight in which everybody has a stake, and, therefore, everybody has a role to play."

The goal of the commission is to help reduce HIV infection rates and increase testing utilization. Its members are also looking to improve access to quality medical, substance abuse and mental health treatment.

"By uniting the government with experts in the field of HIV and respected members of the community, we can create a comprehensive approach to treating and ending an epidemic which has affected our entire city leaving no ward or community untouched," Gray said.

The 21 members of the commission come from a variety of organizations to "increase the scope, influence and impact of our work, so that we can increase our success," said Dr. Mohammad Akhter, director of the Department of Health. By: Erica Redmond (washingtonexaminer.com)