Let me add here that Congress is currently working on reauthorization, and we hope they ll get it done in the next few weeks. It s a battle that can be all consuming, requiring the zeal and commitment of a crusader. And truly that s what each of you are. But even our joint successes present new challenges. A Danish study released in July in the British medical journal, The Lancet , found that the percentage of people whose HIV had progressed to AIDS due to non-Hodgkins lymphoma has quadrupled in the six years since the advent of combination drug therapies.
Lymphoma appears to be more resistant than other illnesses to the drug therapies.
And a study released Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine says HIV prevention efforts have slowed the once-rapid spread of HIV in this country, but charges that the number of new infections remains unacceptably high. It calls for a greater emphasis on prevention, a better system for tracking new infections, and says states and the federal government should explore incentives to reimburse health care providers for the cost of stepping-up prevention messages and treatments at clinics and doctor s offices. Continuing the Fight We face a future of shifting priorities. What once was a disease of gay white men is no longer. Nearly 45 percent of people newly diagnosed with AIDS are African American, and 21 percent are Hispanic.