People with HIV, people in recovery, and syringe exchange users from ACT UP Philadelphia, Community Living Room, One Day at a Time, Phoenix II, Prevention Point Philadelphia, Project TEACH and We the People Living with HIV/AIDS, Inc., packed the room with signs bearing the names of those killed by AIDS during the funding ban, and loudly and clearly educated the Secretary about the disastrous effects of the Federal funding ban on syringe exchange.

"It's nine cents for a new syringe, and over $100,000 for the lifetime care of a person with AIDS. Do the math," said Joyce Hamilton of ACT UP Philadelphia, "The syringe exchange ban isn't just a slap in the face to our communities--it's an economic disaster for the whole country."

"I'm a person living in recovery from drug addiction, " she added. "I am clean from drugs, but can never get rid of the HIV I contracted through a syringe. Syringe exchange stops people from getting HIV, and dead addicts don't recover. Shalala knows this, and doesn't think we're worth the money. She needs to resign."

In 1989, Sen. Jesse Helms passed legislation banning syringe exchange funding until the HHS Secretary determined that programs prevented HIV without increasing drug use.

Last Monday, Shalala announced that the Clinton Administration had determined that needle exchange programs are an effective means of preventing the transmission of HIV and do not increase drug use, but that the funding ban would be retained. The federal government funds the majority of disease prevention efforts in the US.

Needle exchange prevents HIV transmission by exchanging sterile syringes for used ones. 33 people are infected with HIV in the US each day via injection drug use with contaminated syringes. Over half of new HIV infections in the US, and over 60% of infections in women and 75% of infections in children, are attributed to injection drug use.

"For years, the Secretary has ignored the scientific evidence that needle exchange works. She had the data on her desk and she didn't do a damn thing about it until last week," recalls Julie Davids of Project TEACH, "She could have spent this time publicly fighting for syringe exchange funding, rather than allowing Congress and the President to figure out ways to keep the ban. How dare she continue to serve as the top public health official in this nation."

Rates of injection-related HIV infection in Pennsylvania for people of color are twenty times the rate for white injection-drug users.

"The President's so-called 'Dialogue on Race-based Health Disparities' is a fraud. How can Clinton apologize for the infamous Tuskeegee study on one hand, and deny funding for syringe exchange on the other?" said ACT UP Philadelphia's John Bell. "The current policy is nothing more than an official statement of cowardice and racism on the part of a Presidential administration that sees people of color as expendable. It is time for Shalala to take a stand against this genocide--she must step down in protest."

In Philadelphia, where the majority of HIV infections are due to injection drug use, ACT UP forced the city health department to fund a syringe exchange program in 1991. Prevention Point Philadelphia has reduced infections by at least 33% in zip codes with exchange sites, and is the largest source of referrals to drug treatment programs in the city. Many neighborhoods with high rates of injection-related HIV infection remain unserved, however, due to the lack of access to Federal HIV prevention funds.

On Friday, Shalala was confronted in Berkeley, CA, by over 200 protesters from ACT UP East Bay and ACT UP Golden Gate, chanting "Clean needles save lives, it's time to resign." There were three arrests. Activists around the country have committed to a major demonstration and civil disobedience in Washington DC within 6 weeks, as well as ongoing confrontations with Shalala, President Clinton, and drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffery.

"We can no longer sit back and watch this trio kill our families, our lovers, our friends and our communities, vowed ACT UP's Earl Driscoll. "We will persist in spreading the truth, so they will be forced to stop the spread of HIV."

Last September, ACT UP Philadelphia and the National Coalition to Save Lives Now organized a massive demonstration in Washington to lift the funding ban. 2000 needle exchangers and supporters came to the HHS building in Washington DC, and several dozen were arrested in an attempt to deliver a 15 foot tall moral backbone to Shalala and Clinton. ACT UP vows to dramatically step up its pressure campaign on the Administration. The group brought 50 members to Congress in an emergency lobby effort on April 22.