Ms. Foundation for Women Call to Action to Stop Putting Women Last in Fight vs. AIDS

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THE MS. FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN ISSUES A CALL-TO-ACTION TO PUT A STOP TO WOMEN BEING THE LAST, LEAST AND LEFT OUT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS

* Petition Underway Urging All Legislators to Make HIV-Positive Women’s Needs a Priority
* 10-Point Plan Developed by the National Women and AIDS Collective



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2005

NEW YORK – The Ms. Foundation for Women, the first and leading national women’s philanthropy, today issued a 10-Point Call-to-Action in an effort to stop women from being the last, the least and the left out in the fight against AIDS. The 10-point plan, which was developed by nearly 20 grassroots organizations led by HIV-positive women around the United States and funded by the Ms. Foundation, calls on federal legislators and the public to make women a priority in the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“Women with HIV/AIDS are dying at a rate almost twice as fast as men, and not enough is being done to stop the rising death toll,” said Ms. Foundation President and CEO Sara K. Gould. “In the fight to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, women are the last constituency to be addressed: men come first, children second, and then women. Women with HIV/AIDS receive the least amount of health care and other social support services, and they are often left out of the decision-making process. Our Call-to-Action today aims to change this tragic situation. The AIDS crisis is intensifying among women and it’s past time that we all acknowledge this ‘neglected truth’ and take action.”

The Ms. Foundation for Women’s 10-Point Call-to-Action will save and improve the lives of women and their families. The plan, which was developed by the National Women and AIDS Collective (NWAC), a group of organizations supported by the Ms. Foundation’s Women and AIDS Fund, requires lawmakers to do the following:

10-POINT CALL-TO-ACTION PLAN

1. Allocate 25% of all Ryan White CARE Act funds across all titles to community-based organizations that currently and historically have been led by and for HIV-positive women.
2. Expand representation on local Ryan White Planning Councils and other decision-making bodies to include women living with HIV/AIDS.
3. Increase funding for medications that treat AIDS-related illness such as medication-induced diabetes.
4. Increase funding for microbicide research and development of tools that enable women to protect themselves without relying on the cooperation of others.
5. Provide access to both HIV-related and non-HIV specialty care for women living with HIV/AIDS
6. Provide funding for research into how HIV affects women
7. Fund research on woman-to-woman transmission of HIV
8. Provide greater access to health care for women and children, including medical care with unlimited OB-GYN services
9. Promote economic stability through educational and vocational training
10. Ensure that all data collection methods (Ryan White and CDC) encompass HIV as well as AIDS incidences to benefit women living with HIV/AIDS

The public is urged to sign an online petition calling on lawmakers to adopt this 10-point plan. The petition, “Address the Neglected Truth,” can be found by clicking here.

Since 1996, the Ms. Foundation for Women has been the only national foundation that supports advocacy and self-determination for women living with HIV/AIDS. By funding organizations that are led by or have significant leadership of HIV-positive women, the Ms. Foundation recognizes that these women know best what they, their families, and communities need. Since its inception, the Women and AIDS Fund has made grants totaling approximately $755,000 to 24 organizations across the U.S.

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About the Ms. Foundation for Women
The Ms. Foundation for Women Inc., founded in 1972 with headquarters in New York City, is the first and the leading national women’s philanthropy. We lift women’s and girls’ voices and promote their power to create a more equitable society. The Ms. Foundation for Women provides approximately $4 million in grants and practical training to community-based and national activist women’s organizations throughout the U.S. each year. Our support makes these organizations stronger and more capable of driving social change and public policy advances in the areas of health and safety, economic security, and women’s and girls’ leadership. The Ms. Foundation is the creator of the award-winning national public education program, Take Our Daughters To Work Day, which began in 1993 and evolved to Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day in 2003.