Latino Commission on Aids urges HRSA to fix Puerto Rico Aids Crisis.

The Latino Commission on AIDS and over 200 AIDS clients, service providers and advocates sent a letter to Dr. Deborah Parham, Associate Administrator for HIV/AIDS at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), requesting that HRSA resolve the fiscal crisis plaguing the HIV/AIDS service delivery system in Puerto Rico. HIV/AIDS services in Puerto Rico are funded by the Federal Ryan White CARE Act, which is overseen by HRSA.

Currently, many providers have stopped providing services or severely limited those services since many have not received reimbursement for services provided over 6 months ago. “The HIV/AIDS community in Puerto Rico is operating in crisis mode,” stated Dennis deLeon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS. “We need HRSA intervene and fix the system in a timely
manner. The situation is spiraling out of control. People are dying and something must be done now.”

The AIDS community is calling for immediate reimbursement for services rendered by community based organizations and clinics. There is also a demand for a permanent plan to avoid similar financial pitfalls in the future. Anselmo Fonseca, Co-founder of Pacientes de SIDA pro Politica Sana, an HIV/AIDS patient advocacy network in Puerto Rico stated “We ask that a responsible third party be brought in to handle the finances of this vital funding source.” Fonseca continued: “Because of mismanagement of funds by the Puerto Rico Department of Health and the San Juan Municipality, people living with HIV/AIDS are not receiving the medicine and treatment they need to survive. A waiting list has formed for medicine which was completely avoidable.”

The Ryan White CARE Act provides $45 million in funding to Puerto Rico where 18,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.

According to CDC, as of 2005 the Island has 339.4 AIDS cases per 100,000, one of the worst rates in the United States where the average rate is 176.2

The Latino Commission on AIDS is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community. In response to the critical, unmet need for HIV prevention and care for Latinos in New York City, a coalition of Latino leaders founded the agency in 1990. The Commission realizes its mission by spearheading health advocacy for Latinos, promoting HIV education and prevention, developing model programs for high-risk communities, and by building capacity in community-based organizations. Through its extensive network of member organizations and community leaders, the Commission works to mobilize an effective Latino community response to the health crisis created by HIV/AIDS.