"Today, the Administration has put science and principle ahead of politics to save lives with Secretary Shalala's determination on needle exchange. At this critical juncture, however, we urge the Administration to make this positive determination a practical reality across our country by lifting the ban on the federal funding for needle exchange programs.

"A growing number of new cases of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States are due to the use of HIV-contaminated needles by injection drug users. The lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are threatened today by this source of HIV transmission. Already, the majority of new cases of AIDS among women are directly or indirectly associated with injection drug use.

"Needle exchange programs have been evaluated by prestigious scientific and other panels for their ability to reverse the deadly tide. These programs were repeatedly found capable of stemming the rate of HIV transmission among exchange participants without contributing to increased injection drug use.

"Since 1988, AmFAR has invested $3.5 million in the planning, conduct and evaluation of the efficacy of needle exchange programs both in the Untied States and overseas. AmFAR-funded research showed that needle exchange reduces HIV infection by two thirds among injection drug users within three years and does not increase drug use. Today, as the largest independent funders of research on this issue, we, at AmFAR, are proud of this important contribution.

"We thank the Secretary for accepting the judgement of those who speak for our scientific, medical, public health and legal communities; for weighing the facts against speculations, and for arriving at a determination that will encourage communities to develop comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programs that include a needle exchange component.

"We must now urge the Administration to go further, and lift the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs.

"There is only one morally acceptable outcome to a political impasse on this issue in a society that believes in the inherent value of each and every human life.

"Given today's recognition of scientific fact from the Administration, the withholding of federal funds for needle exchange programs means the immoral withholding of a lifesaving intervention from most of those people that the public health system is there to protect."