Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini are responsible for the HIV/AIDS health crisis in Puerto Rico:

*   The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the City of San Juan have grossly misspent Federal Ryan White dollars.

*   Audit after audit of Ryan White CARE Act expenditures in Puerto Rico have found mismanagement, fraud, and failure to provide basic lifesaving care.

*   As a result, new HIV infections, new AIDS diagnoses and deaths from AIDS in Puerto Rico are disproportionately high and getting higher.

*   Many people have no access to AIDS medications, many AIDS service organizations have curtailed or shut down services, and many employees of AIDS services organizations have gone months without pay.

HIV/AIDS advocates, Puerto Rican activists and their allies have called repeatedly for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the City of San Juan to do their job.

Now it’s time for you to demand action that could save lives. It is time to tell Santini and Acevedo Vilá to act now to save lives and end the AIDS crisis in Puerto Rico.

(1) Call Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá toll-free at 888-802-1207

(2) Call San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini-Padilla toll-free at 866-802-0640 (ask for the Mayor at extension 3000)

Tell them:

“Long term survivors, veterans of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, people with AIDS are dying in Puerto Rico because you haven’t taken action to help them. We need action for change:

*   Stop covering up and allow an immediate federal receivership for AIDS funding in Puerto Rico to ensure medical care and HIV prevention for people who don’t have it.

*   Conduct a full needs assessment of the patients, community based organizations, treatment and prevention education programs, to ascertain the real situation in Puerto Rico. If needed, declare the need for more federal funding under a receivership program.

*   Allow an independent authority to investigate the mismanagement and come up with a plan to end it.

*   Take immediate action to provide HIV prevention tools to IV drug users and empowerment efforts to fight stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

FAX ZAP TOO! You can also fax the Governor at 787-724-6942 and the Mayor at 787-725-5674 – download this document [link to PDF] on the Puerto Rico AIDS crisis and fax away!

This action created and supported by the Campaign to End AIDS, the National Minority AIDS Council, Unid@s Dandole Cara al SIDA Puerto Rico and Unid@s Dandole Cara al SIDA New York, Latino Commission on AIDS (need to insert hyperlink) – it’s www.latinoaids.org, and is an affiliated project of the Prevention Justice Mobilization [link www.preventionjustice.org].

To get involved contact activists on the front line:

WEB: unidosdandolecaraalsida.homestead.com

EMAIL: udcas-pr-home-chapter@googlegroups.com

PHONE: James Albino, NMAC: 202-234-5120 X303