Reply #5: It's pretty horrible

[MountainLaurel]

Here's a recent report: http://www.dcappleseed.org/projects/publications/HIV.pdf.

Whitman-Walker Clinic, which is the main provider of services to HIV positive people in the District, has had to close at least one of it's clinics in the suburbs because of a funding crisis. You're right about the needle exchange program: DC has been trying to implement one for years but Congress has stymied efforts: It essentially retains veto power on any District action, through its control over our budget. (That's why our license plates read "Taxation Without Representation."

But funding is only part of the story. The greater issues include that a large portion of the District does not have access to health care, poverty in some areas is endemic and crippling, drug addiction is a huge problem, and there are many cultural barriers to safe sex.