POB 22439Philadelphia, PA 19110   July 17, 2006  Friends,  This summer, for the first time in a decade, the International AIDSConference will be held on this continent, from August 13th to18th inToronto, Canada. This conference will be critical for highlighting thefailures of the US government in addressing the burgeoning AIDS epidemic athome and abroad, and ACT UP Philadelphia members are planning to attend toensure this happens. We are writing to ask for your financial assistance in helping us get toToronto. We are a small but powerful volunteer-run grassroots AIDS activistgroup. We have never accepted government or pharmaceutical money, whichmeans that frequently we do not have the resources to do all that is neededto fight AIDS. Our goal is to send five ACT UP members to Toronto, most ofwhom are living with AIDS.  The members will give a face and a voice tothe AIDS crisis and will publicly hold high-level decision-makers attendingthe conference accountable for not ending a completely preventable andtreatable disease.  ACT UP Philadelphia has been fighting the domestic and global AIDS crisisfor nearly 20 years and has won many victories for people living with AIDS.Right now, dangerous abstinence-only-until-marriage prevention policies thatput ideology before the reality of people¹s lives are being promoted aroundthe world.  In Sub-Saharan Africa there is a critical shortage of trainedhealth care workers, a barrier preventing access to treatment and care forthe millions of people living with HIV/AIDS. Women in developing countriesare not given the tools they need to protect themselves against HIV.Domestically and globally we now have great initiatives for increased HIVtesting, but there is no new money to treat people that test positive forHIV. Here in the United States, instead of moving forward with HIV treatment andmedications, we are moving backwards and the rest of the world is followingsuit.  We are facing draconian cuts to Medicaid, the medical lifeline forpoor and uninsured people living with HIV in this country.  The Ryan WhiteCARE Act, which provides essential care and services to poor people livingwith AIDS in the US, has been consistently under funded for years, even ashundreds of new people in poor communities of color are becoming infectedwith HIV. ACT UP Philadelphia wants to go to Toronto to ensure that these problems arehighlighted, and that real solutions that are realistic for people¹s livesare discussed.  We are asking for contributions of $100 to $1,000, however,any contribution towards the total cost of $4,500 is appreciated. Thesecontributions will cover housing, transportation, and food for the six daysof the conference for five members of ACT UP Philadelphia.  Contributors of$100 or more will receive a CD of a speech by ACT UP member WaheedahShabazz-el delivered at the United Nations in May. Contributions can be mailed to: ACT UP PhiladelphiaPOB 22439Philadelphia, PA 19110 or can be made online at www.critpath.org/actup. As usual ACT UP members are always available to discuss this with youpersonally.  Most sincerely,

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