Gay Democrats: Don't Let CDC Paralyze HIV Prevention Programs

January 18, 2006

From the Campaign to End AIDS

Through the new Program Evaluation and Monitoring System (PEMS) , the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is requiring agencies to start reporting highly personal information about every person who participates in federally funded HIV prevention programs. Collecting data for PEMS will mean less time for HIV prevention counseling, could put people with HIV at risk for criminal prosecution, and won't actually tell us whether HIV prevention programs work.

TAKE ACTION: Tell CDC to suspend implementation of PEMS and address community concerns

Call Dr. Robert Janssen, Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at CDC, at 404-639-0900 or fax him a note to 404-639-0910 and tell him to suspend implementation of the new HIV prevention data collection system called "PEMS."

Here's what you can tell him:

"PEMS deployment must be suspended until CDC addresses community concerns about the impact, scope, and legal issues that surround the program."

Once you've made the call, email C2EA at info@campaigntoendaids.org and let us know how it went - we'll check back with you to suggest more ways to get involved.

What are some of the concerns with PEMS?

Interferes with the actual prevention education by diverting attention to answering a time-consuming list of invasive questions.

Strains already overburdened agencies with unnecessary paperwork at a time when President Bush and Congress have cut funding for HIV prevention programs to 1998 levels

Could put people with HIV at risk for criminal prosecution by collecting information about HIV status and sexual or drug behavior over a period of time

Is so cumbersome and hard to use, that it won't collect good information or tell us whether HIV prevention programs work.

What else can you do?

Call your local AIDS service organization and Community Planning Group and ask them to report concerns about PEMS to Dr. Janssen.
For more information about PEMS and the fight for real HIV prevention and real respect for people living with HIV/AIDS, click here .

Posted by David at January 18, 2006 05:47 PM

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