Opinion: AIDS Recedes as Priority for LGBT Donors

Philanthropic support for fighting AIDS is shrinking in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community despite evidence that the disease continues to disproportionately strike men who engage in same-sex activities, a leading AIDS activist writes in The Washington Post.

While more than 60 percent of new U.S. HIV cases occur among men who have sex with men, and infection rates are rising rapidly among black men in this group, contributions by U.S. donors for AIDS- and HIV-related work dropped by more than $30-million, to $459-million from 2009 to 2010, Daniel Tietz writes.

Mr. Tietz, executive director of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, says foundations focused on gay issues have shifted priorities in recent years, giving more attention and dollars to marriage equality and repealing of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“Why is this happening? Overwhelmingly, these foundations’ giving is decided by rich, white gay men,” he writes. “And these funders are among the Americans who have access to high-quality health care … [and] to life-extending antiretroviral drugs, which have made HIV a manageable chronic illness for many.”