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09/11/2008: "DC hopes needle exchanges curb soaring AIDS rate"

District of Columbia officials are counting on Jackson and others like him as they try to tackle an AIDS crisis so severe that one report has called it a "modern epidemic."

Despite such alarms, little has changed over the years as city leaders struggle to reverse a startling statistic - one in 20 residents in the nation's capital is believed to be infected with HIV, a rate worse than any American city and one that rivals some developing countries.

But there is reason for optimism, officials say.

Congress lifted a decade-long ban in December prohibiting D.C. from using local tax dollars to support needle-exchange programs. Critical funds are now starting to reach these groups, allowing them to increase outreach efforts and add workers like Jackson.

[ The only way that HIV can be stopped is when people change their lifestyles - sex and drug habits. Just handing out clean needles might slow it down a little that's all. ]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/681697.html