Res No. 1638
Title
Resolution commemorating December 1, 2000 as World AIDS Day and calling for the City and State of New York to renew their commitment both to fighting the spread of AIDS and to offering care and comfort to those currently living with the disease.
Body
By Council Members Perkins, Lopez, The Speaker (Council Member Vallone), Council Members Robles, Spigner, Eisland, Espada, Freed, Linares, Marshall, Reed and Abel; also Council Members DiBrienza, Fisher, Koslowitz, Leffler, Michels, Nelson, Quinn, Robinson, Rodriguez and Warden
Whereas, Every year, the World AIDS Campaign culminates on December 1st, internationally recognized as World AIDS Day; and
Whereas, With 33.6 million men, women and children infected and 16.3 million fatalities by the end of 1999, there are few threats to human life and welfare in the world today which loom so large or exact so grievous a toll as AIDS; and
Whereas, The product of concerted international cooperation, the World AIDS Campaign gathers intelligence, raises awareness and marshals resources critical to halting the spread of AIDS and improving the lives of people already living with the disease and its effects; and
Whereas, Every year, the Campaign selects a theme for World AIDS Day in order to highlight a facet of its comprehensive and multi-tiered strategy for AIDS prevention; and
Whereas, For the year Two Thousand, the Campaign's theme is "AIDS: MEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE;" and
Whereas, This theme was chosen to bring attention to the unique factors which make men vulnerable to AIDS infection; and
Whereas, These factors include cultural factors which encourage an unhealthy conception of masculinity that calls for sexual promiscuity, which exposes men to greater risks; the stigma associated with seeking medical care, making men less likely than women to receive medical attention in many cultures; a cavalier attitude to health risks associated with unsafe sexual practices and intravenous drug use; and the role of sexual violence of men against women; and
Whereas, The toll of these risk factors has been a fatality rate for men which exceeds that of women in every continent excepting sub-Saharan Africa, and a population of men under 25 who constitute more than a quarter of the world's entire HIV-positive population; and
Whereas, This year's focus on men's behavior does not signal a flagging concern in women's health, but rather a necessary attention on the role that men's behavior plays in the spread-and prevention of HIV and AIDS; and
Whereas, Without cooperation by all-men and women, rich and poor and of all races and nations, AIDS will remain a terrible scourge, but with the world acting in unison, humanity will surely prevail, and bring an end to the disease's spread, as well as to the suffering of those currently living with it; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the Council of the City of New York commemorates December 1, 2000 as World AIDS Day and calls for the City and State of New York to renew their commitment both to fighting the spread of AIDS and to offering care and comfort to those currently living with the disease.